Black and White
by Sapphire Luna
Summary: When Tenten chooses Kiba over him, Neji finds an unexpected new friend in Akamaru. It's not a love triangle, it's a love square! [KibaTen][NejiTen][NejiAka..no I'm just kidding about that one XD]
1. Tenten I

**NOTE!!**

As of March 23rd 2008, ff net doesn't allow us to use hyphens to mark paragraphs anymore, something I did a lot in this fic and others. They have been removed, meaning that paragraphs are no longer separated, resulting in a big block of text, which sucks. Just thought I'd let you know cause you'll see it in this fic. Do read it anyways, though!

Wooo! It's me again! I'm in a fanfic mood lately. I thought up a story while working at my crappy job, so here it is for you. I know that KibaxTenten is a very random crack pairing, but hey, why not? XD

**Disclaimer:** Luna does not own Naruto nor its characters. It's a shame, really.

**Black and White**

**Chapter 1**

One early morning, Neji was calmly walking down the path to the team's training grounds. Another day of training hearing Gai-sensei's youthful cheers, another day of sparring with Lee, another day of practicing techniques with Tenten. This was the way it had been for months, the way it seemed things would continue to be.

As he advanced through the woods, he heard Tenten's familiar voice. Wondering what she was doing here, he went in the direction the voice came from and saw her through the trees. She was talking to someone. Kiba Inuzuka. "What's he doing here?" the boy thought. He didn't mean to eavesdrop, but he happened to catch part of their conversation.

"..yeah we're training all day too," said Tenten. "I'd better go now. If I'm late, Gai-sensei will lecture me about the importance of youthful punctuality again."

Kiba grabbed her wrist before she could leave. "See you tonight?"

She smiled. "Sure."

The boy brought her closer to him, and the two of them kissed.

Neji's eyes widened at what he was witnessing. Tenten with Kiba? What the hell? He couldn't even recall them ever talking. Why?

Their kiss was broken by Akamaru's bark, who had been sitting nearby, alerting Kiba that someone else was here. The dog's master threw a kunai where Neji was hiding, barely missing him. The long-haired boy thought it was best to leave now, before being accused of spying. He had seen enough already. He left before being discovered.

Tenten shrugged. "Probably a squirrel. Bye now."

Kiba smiled at her. "Bye." And both left.

Lee was waiting when Neji got to his destination. Lee greeted him politely, but the other didn't do the same.

"Lee, Tenten… I saw her with Kiba on the way here," is what he said instead, still shocked though he wouldn't let it show.

"That's right, you didn't know! They're going out together now. Isn't that wonderful? They make such cute couple!"

"How?"

"Last week they were on a mission together for five days. I guessed they bonded."

Neji said nothing. He had noticed that Tenten seemed more happy and radiant recently. Was it because of Kiba? How come everyone knew but him? Tenten finally arrived too. She was smiling as she said hello to both teammates.

Gai jumped down a tree at this moment. "Hello, youthful students! Another day of intense training awaits us! Tenten, you look especially beautiful today!"

His comment made the girl blush.

"It's the power of love, Gai-sensei!" Lee exclaimed.

"Ah, yes! Love that blooms from the springtime of youth!"

"Love so beautiful and pure, that fills your heart with joy!"

"As beautiful as the flower that is Tenten herself!"

Tenten blushed and told them to stop, as Lee and Gai continued to praise love and flowers and spring and youth… Neji just felt like he could throw up.

"Hello, Kiba-kun…" Hinata said quietly as Kiba showed up.

"Kiba, you're late again." Kurenai said.

"Sorry, sorry!" Kiba apologized, though he was grinning while saying so. He had "look at me, I've got a girlfriend!" written all over his face.

Kurenai sighed. "I'm glad you have a little girlfriend now, but don't let it get in the way of your training."

Hinata blushed. She thought he was very lucky to have found love. Shino said nothing.

"I know! I won't." But he was still grinning.

When they had learned about Kiba and Tenten, Naruto, Chouji and Shikamaru had said respectively: "You're a man now!" "You lucky dog!" "You're crazy. Women are so troublesome." But Kiba had smiled that stupid grin then too, smiling like a kid who just received something awesome for Christmas.

At the end of the day, Neji was going back home, thinking this had been a crappy day. His day got worse when he met Kiba along the way.

"Yo," the hood-wearing boy said."Is Tenten still over there?"

"Yeah…"

"Cool." He continued walking towards Team Gai's training grounds but Neji stopped him. "What?" he asked, annoyed.

"Tenten... what is she to you?"

Kiba raised an eyebrow. "You've heard, I'm sure. We're going out."

Neji scowled. "I meant how do you really feel about her? How could you be in love with her? You barely know her."

The dog-boy felt offended by the other's comment. "We were in a mission together. We kind of bonded. What's this have to do with you?" Noticing Neji's glare, he continued. "She's an awesome girl. I really like her. We get along well."

"What about Hinata-sama?"

"What about her?"

" Everyone thought..."

"Everyone thought wrong. Hinata only has eyes for Naruto. I'd be a fool wasting my time forever. I have Tenten now. I don't see what the problem is. Unless... you're jealous!"

When Neji's expression changed, Kiba knew he just hit a nerve. " Listen, pal, you've had years to make the move on her but you didn't. Now's she mine. Deal with it."

Normally, Neji wouldn't have tolerated Kiba's attitude, but if he showed any sign of anger, he'd just be proving Kiba was right.

As Kiba left, Neji let out a " You better treat her right."

Kiba snorted. " Eh, I don't need you telling me what to do. You better not mess with her."

It took everything Neji had not to punch Kiba out of sheer anger. He couldn't stand people talking up to him. Tenten showed up then. She noticed how Neji looked pissed.

"What's going on? Did you two have a fight?"

"No…" Neji said quietly before leaving the two.

Kiba glared at him as he left, then smiled when he turned to Tenten. " I don't know how you stand that jerk. Let's go, shall we?"

Neji kept thinking about Kiba and Tenten as he reached home. What an idiot that guy was. What did she see in that loud, obnoxious and immature boy? Tch, in the end that was none of his concern. It had nothing to do with him. It's not like he cared...

That was a short first chapter! I've got chapter 2 up already, so please read it before making up your mind about this story!


	2. Kiba I

Why do I write a story about Kiba, Tenten and Neji? Well… I think it's only because they're my three favorite characters XD If I can make it work, then I don't see why it couldn't be good.

**Disclaimer:** Luna doesn't own Naruto! If she did, she'd give Tenten more of a personality…

--

**Black and White**

**Chapter 2**

**--**

They 'had bonded during that one mission together'. That was what everyone said when asked where Kiba and Tenten's relationship came from. No one knew what happened during that mission except those two...

--

--

_**Two weeks earlier**_

--

--

Kiba and Tenten had both been called to Tsunade's office. The 5th Hokage looked through some papers as she briefed the youths on their mission.

"Tenten, your teammates still aren't back from their last mission, so I'm sending you with Kiba. It seems Hinata has a cold and I've got other plans for Shino. You two will go together. Okay?"

The young girl nodded. Kiba just looked like he didn't care.

Tsunade explained the mission. "You will go to the Grass Village, there is a museum there where you must collect a valuable painting and bring it back to Konoha. It's a D mission and you should meet little resistance, so take it easy. The journey there is two and a half days of walking, you shall be back in five days, understood? You'll leave tomorrow morning."

Both teens nodded and exited the office.

Kiba sighed. "Another pointless mission..." And he got paired up with someone he barely knew too.

Tenten held out an hand to him. "I look forward to working with you."

The boy shook her hand. "Yeah."

--

--

The next morning, both the teens and Akamaru met at the village gates, packed for five days of walking. They began their journey, the atmosphere tense because they weren't familiar with each other at all. They walked for a while without saying much.

"Sorry you had to be paired with me." Kiba said, breaking the silence.

"I don't mind. It's nice getting to know new people."

Silence.

"So...is your teacher always so..."

Tenten giggled lightly. "Weird? Oh yeah. All the time."

Another silence.

"Is it ever a bother to you that your teacher is a woman? I know some guys would dislike it."

Kiba blinked. "No, I don't see why it would. I'm used to women. My family supports matriarchy, you see. I live with my big sister and my mom. My mom is pretty scary when she's mad. No one is stronger than her when she's pissed!" He laughed. "Then there's Hinata. She comes to me whenever she needs to be cheered up, meaning often. I'm always surrounded by girls. How are your parents?"

"I don't live with my parents anymore..."

"Oh..." the boy said, wondering if he had said something wrong. "My mom used to scold me pretty hard whenever I was caught doing pranks. Stupid Naruto, he'd always screw up and get us caught. But after we've graduated, we stopped the pranks...mostly. One time we..."

Tenten laughed. The ice was broken. On the first night they had camped out in the woods.

--

--

On the next morning they resumed their journey, jumping from tree to tree.

"...and Hinata apologized for hours, after almost knocking me unconscious while practicing her jyuken on me."

"How I know your pain..." She stopped counting how many times Neji had knocked _her_ out with jyuken. "That reminds me, I don't think I've ever seen your jutsu. I've heard about it though."

"I've only seen yours during the chuunin exams. Can't say I was impressed."

Tenten pouted. "That was a long time ago! I've become much stronger since then. If I were to fight that girl again, I would kick her butt!"

"Really? Here's your chance to show me how strong you've become." Kiba's voiced was now serious.

"Yes, you knew we were being followed too."

The two stopped and braced themselves, as three bulky ninjas came out of hiding when Tenten threw a kunai at them.

"Well, well. Those are the Konoha ninjas that were supposed to come here. Give us the painting if you don't want trouble!" said one of them.

Kiba raised an eyebrow. "But we haven't even reached the village yet. We don't have it."

The second ninja scolded the first. "I told you we were too early!" These guys didn't look very smart, nor strong for that matter.

"Care for some exercise?" Tenten smiled.

"You bet! Akamaru? Let's show Tenten and these guys our techniques!"

"Arf!"

Tenten watched as Akamaru changed into a clone of Kiba and the two of them used Gatsuuga on two of the thugs, knocking them out easily. The girl thought they looked very cool, but she didn't have time to stare for long, because the last enemy came after her. She summoned a bunch of sharp weapons and threw them at the bad guy who blocked some of them, while others hit the target right where intended. She then got a wooden staff, that she considered more than enough for such a weak enemy, showed Kiba a few cool moves and knocked the guy out. Kiba and Tenten exchanged a look and stared at the three unconscious ninjas.

"Think we overdid it?"

"Nah!"

The girl then noticed that one of the Kibas was licking the blood from a small cut wound on his hand, like a dog would. She found that both cute and disgusting, but mostly disgusting.

"Don't do that, Kiba-kun. Let me get my first aid kit."

Akamaru poofed back into his normal form, while Kiba stopped licking his hand. His ears twitched. No one ever called him Kiba-kun except Hinata.

"How could you tell I was the real one so easily?"

Tenten got some bandages and ointment from her backpack. "I don't know. I just knew. Give me your hand. This might sting a little."

The boy held out his hand and the girl washed the wound. She was amazed when Kiba didn't wince at all. Even Neji winced whenever she used that ointment on him. She bandaged his hand tighly.

"Thanks." He smiled. "You were pretty cool out there. Though these guys were nothing."

"You were cool too."

They left the unconscious ninjas there and carried on. The second night they camped out again.

--

--

On the third day they finally arrived in Grass village around dinner time. They were starving so they headed to a restaurant first. Upon entering one, Kiba pulled down his hood and excused himself to wash his hands in the restrooms while Tenten got a seat. When he returned, Tenten told him how amazed she was at his good manners. Uncovering his head when entering a public building _and_ washing his hands before handling food? She thought Lee was the only person around her capable of being polite. Neji was selective about who he was polite to...

"My mom would bonk me on the head whenever I forgot to say please or anything like that. She's very strict, I told you she was scary!"

Tenten smiled. Wow, she never expected someone like him to be so polite. He really didn't look like that kind of person. Now that he wasn't wearing the hood anymore, she took a good look at his hair.

"Hey, you've got cool hair!"

"Cool hair? That's a first!"

"No, really! Sure it's messy, but it looks good!"

"Thanks, I guess."

The hair Tenten was used to seeing were either ridiculous bowl-cuts or annoyingly perfect and naturally beautiful hair that made all girls jealous, including herself.

Kiba had quite an appetite, which did not surprise her, actually. He ate three times as much as she did. He shared some with Akamaru, while she reached for her wallet to pay her tab.

She froze. "I've lost my wallet! All my cash and ID cards were in there!"

"No problem. I'll pay your part, then we'll look for it."

"How? We don't know where I lost it."

He winked at her. "Don't worry about it!"

--

--

They went outside. Tenten wondered how he possibly hoped to find it.

"Piece of cake, you'll see!" the boy grinned.

He approached the girl and sniffed her neck, making her blush slightly. He then proceeded to use his beast mimicry art to improve that excellent sense of smell of his.

"I've got it, follow me!"

Tenten followed Kiba down the streets of the village, watching him sniff the air occasionally. He seemed to know exactly where he was going. They had returned to the village entrance. Akamaru went on ahead and disappeared for a minute, and sure enough, he brought Tenten's wallet back in his mouth.

"There you go! Good job, Akamaru."

Tenten pet the dog's head. "Thanks! You two are amazing!"

Kiba blushed slighty, holding a hand behind his head. "That was nothing, really." The girl handed him the money he had paid for her at the restaurant. "Nah, no need to repay me. It's fine."

--

--

The two of them finally decided to head for that museum and retrieve the painting they were supposed to bring back to Konoha. They indeed received the painting there as they were supposed to. Tenten examined it. A nice spring scenery was painted.

"It's pretty. I wish I had that kind of talent."

Kiba shrugged. "I don't care much for these things. I lack the patience. But I bet you could do it."

Soon after that, the two of them rented a room with two small beds in a cheap hotel. They set up some traps just in case, then both of them collapsed on their bed, exhausted.

--

--

On the fourth day, Tenten took out the money that they had been given for their expenses on this mission, and saw that they had been given too much.

"Did Tsunade-sama expect us to be sleeping in luxury hotels on all five days or what? This is way too much. I wonder if that was a mistake. This hotel costs almost nothing. I guess we could bring it back to Tsunade-sama..."

"Or we could spend it all on ourselves..."

Kiba and Tenten exchanged a mischievous grin.

--

--

They went to fancy restaurants, they went shopping, they went to the zoo, they went to the movies. Manicure, massage, grooming (for Akamaru), ice cream, junk food and more...They spent like crazy. Then soon, night came.

"Shoot, Tsunade-sama said we should be back in five days. If we don't leave tonight, we won't make it back on the fifth day." Tenten noted.

Kiba paused. "Well, she did say to take it easy. I'm sure she won't mind if we make it in six days. It's dark already, let's leave tomorrow."

The girl nodded, and the two proceeded to get a new place to stay. This time, they used the money to get a fancy hotel room, and couldn't resist spending the last of it on room service.

--

--

The next morning, they left the village with the painting safely in Kiba's backpack. They soon regretted not leaving earlier, because it started raining a few hours after they had left. The rain didn't bother them much, but then the wind started blowing hard, blowing leaves and dust while thunder and lightning followed. It started pouring hard now. Their vision and sense of smell were greatly reduced and they couldn't risk getting the painting wet, so they decided to find a shelter for the night. Akamaru located a small cave, so they headed there. They made a fire and settled around it.

"I'm totally soaked," Tenten complained. "Would you mind turning around a minute?"

Kiba did as he was told, confused. The girl removed her pink shirt and set it near the fire to dry. She digged into her pack and wrapped herself in a blanket. She told the boy he could turn back now. He held back a blush when he realized that she was half naked under that blanket. He actually thought that was a good idea thought, so he did the same. Tenten turned her gaze away politely when the boy removed both his coat and shirt without warning and grabbed his own blanket. Boys really didn't have any sense of decency.

Next, the girl released her messy wet hair from the buns on her head and tried to comb it with her fingers. Kiba stared with great interest. Wow, she really was pretty even though she was somewhat of a tomboy.

"You know, you've got cool hair too..." he said, returning the compliment she had made to him before.

"Thanks. I don't let it down often because it gets in the way."

"That's really a shame..." he said quietly.

"Did you say something?"

"No...Yesterday was really fun, wasn't it?"

"Yeah. I haven't had this much fun in a while."

The two of them sat there a for while, watching the fire burning. Akamaru was already asleep. The boy eyed her discreetly. Tenten wasn't feminine like Sakura or Ino, or cute like Hinata but she wasn't bossy, violent or overly intraverted either. She was a normal girl. He found her refreshing. And pretty. He never noticed before.

The girl had similar thoughts about Kiba. There really was much more to him than meets the eye. He was kind, helpful and polite, three traits she imagined few people knew he had. He really knew how to have fun too. She found those animal-like eyes of his intriguing while he was also kind of cute.

Kiba noticed Tenten had been shivering. "Are you still cold?"

"Kinda, it's humid in here..."

The boy went to sit beside her and wrapped half of his blanket around her, keeping the other half for himself. She was about to thank him when she noticed his face was only inches from hers. The next thing they knew, their lips had met and they kissed. None of them had ever imagined that they would be sharing their first kiss together. Fate liked to be tricky. When their lips parted, they both blushed and smiled bashfully. Then, without a word, they settled on the floor and slept next to each other.

--

--

On the sixth day, they reached Konoha around midday. None of them had mentionned what had happened the night before during the travel. They hurried to see Tsunade and give the painting.

"You two are late. You took an extra day." The teens apologized and she sighed. "Was the money I gave you enough to pay for the painting?"

Kiba and Tenten eyed each other. What was she talking about? "Sure..." the boy lied.

So the money was never meant for them and they were supposed to buy the painting with it? That's why they had received so much! For some reason the manager of the museum had given it for free. Probably a misunderstanding. They decided it was best not to inform Tsunade of that...

"Anyways, good job. Tenten, sorry for not letting you rest but your teammates are back and you're meeting with them in two hours. I wasn't expecting you to be back one day later."

"I understand." Gees, no rest and only two hours to prepare...

The young ninjas excused themselves and stepped out of the Hokage's office and exited the building.

"Thank God Tsunade-sama didn't ask about the money! Let's keep it a secret, just between you and me, ok?" Kiba asked.

Tenten giggled. "Of course! Well, gotta go prepare for yet another mission now." She was about to leave, but stopped when Kiba called her name.

"Tenten, see you soon?" He wanted to make sure that last night really did mean something.

She nodded. He smiled and both went their separate ways.

--

--

And that's exactly how Kiba and Tenten had 'bonded during that one mission together'. What had happened during those six days would remain their little secret.

--

--

Yay! Did that make some sense? That was a flashback chapter. Main story continues next chapter. Please review and stay tuned.


	3. Neji I

It's me again! Did you have a nice Christmas? I got Uzumaki Chronicles! Awesome-ness!

Naruto: Luna does not own Naruto, meaning me, or any of my friends. Hey, why am I just barely in this story?

Thanks for the disclaimer, Naruto... This chapter was inspired by my wisdom teeth. Can you believe at 22 they're still not completely out?

--

**Black and White**

**Chapter 3**

**--**

That morning, it was Neji's turn to arrive late for training, which was a rare thing.

"Hi, N..." Tenten's voice trailed off when she noticed how pissed the boy looked.

Oh, he looked like he was in a bad mood alright.! More than usual. Grumpy, angry, annoyed, furious; he looked extremely irritated today. No one dared ask what was wrong, he looked way too scary! Like he would bite their head off if they said a single word. Even Gai, who would've lectured him for getting late, stayed silent. Neji glared at all of them. If glares could kill, he'd be a multi-assassin. The scowling boy walked passed them and proceeded to train alone. No one wanted to train with him in this condition anyway... Lee winced as he watched Neji beat the crap out of those defenceless training dummies.

When they took their lunch break, the Hyuuga genius seemed to have cooled off a bit, so Tenten took this opportunity to approach him.

"So..." she said nervously, "feeling better?" She hoped not to receive the glare of death.

"Hn." He didn't even look at her.

"Um..."

He knew that she was afraid to ask what was wrong with him. " My wisdom teeth."

She blinked. "Wha?"

" My wisdom teeth are coming out."

"Oh! They hurt? Is that why you're in a bad mood?"

Yes, it did hurt. But what had Neji in a foul mood was Kiba. Or rather, Kiba with Tenten. That, and he also had a headache, but he wasn't the kind to complain about his personal pain.

"Let me see!" the girl asked enthusiastically.

Neji gave her a weird look. A 'no, I'm not letting you look into my mouth' look.

Lee skipped by. "Mine are already fully out! Look!" He somehow felt a little proud that he had gotten his wisdom teeth before Neji.

" Oh yeah, I see them!" Tenten stared at the boy's teeth curiously as he opened his mouth wide, pointing to his nice shiny teeth in the back.

Neji couldn't help but smile at how stupid they looked. He found the girl's naiveness to be somewhat cute, though he still prefered her tough, realistic side. That side had been hiding recently, tough. All she did was smile and blush happily and giggle over little things. Frankly, Neji found that annoying. Was that a side of her that had always been there but that she only just recently discovered? Because she was in love?

"Gai-sensei, may I train with Kurenai-sensei for the rest of the afternoon?" she asked.

Neji frowned. They all knew the reason she would ask for that.

Gai gave it some thought. "I don't see why not. In fact, we should all train with Kurenai's team! Experiencing all kind of battles will surely help your youth blossom!"

"Yay, Gai-sensei!" Lee blurted out.

Neji 's terrible mood was fueled more. Great. Just great.

--

--

Kurenai did not object to letting Gai's team train with hers but she kept an eye on Kiba and Tenten.

"I want you two lovebirds to train seriously, understand?"

There was no need to worry, because the two were training hard. They seemed to enjoy showing each other their skills.

Neji was annoyed. His gums hurt because of his teeth, he still had that headache and he actually hoped he could be the one fighting with Kiba. He felt like testing his strenght for some reason. He didn't feel like training with Hinata at all. Everyone still eyed him suspiciously whenever he went near her. So he chose to train with Shino instead. Right now, he appreciated someone who kept quiet. As he fought the bug user, he occasionally glanced at Kiba and Tenten and his strenght would double from sheer disgruntlement. As Shino noticed this, he immediately understood what was going on between these three. He had a knack for knowing these things, though he'd never speak it out loud.

--

Neji wasn't an idiot, he knew and admitted to himself that he was jealous of Kiba. Tenten was _his_ training partner. They completed each other's techniques perfectly. He needed her skills. It bothered him to see her sharing her sweat, blood and passion with someone other than him. Because, he thought, Kiba's skills didn't bring out the best in her, and all that cheesy love stuff would just end up making the girl too soft. That's why he was jealous. It never occurred to him that it might be because he was in love with her. He had never been in love. No, he was well above that. He had no time to waste on petty childish things like love. It would take him a while before discovering his true feelings. He'd be in for a shock once he did.

When the long-haired boy's chance to fight the dog-boy arrived, he felt disappointed in the other's attacks. Surely Tenten couldn't be safe in this guy's care. He worked Kiba really hard.

"Hey," Kiba protested, barely dodging the other's hand. "This is training, remember? I get the impression that you're coming at me seriously!"

"Enemies won't go easy on you."

Neji leaped at Kiba one more time, but Kurenai intervened just in time.

"That's enough, you two. Let's call it a day, shall we?"

Neji gave both the teacher and student a glare, and prepared to leave. It seemed Kurenai-sensei didn't trust him too much around his students ever since the chuunin exam... The angry boy left without saying a word to anyone. He was in a foul mood, his gums hurt, he still had that headache, and now his body was sore from training too hard with Kiba. (Though he would never admit that.) The day couldn't get worse.

-

-

It got worse. All Neji wanted was to get home and take a bath. Instead he was called to Tsunade's office for an emergency mission. A really stupid mission too. Catch a common thief who just ran off with the content of someone's cash register. They had reasons to believe he was still around here. The boy grunted on his way out the office. Why was he bothered with such an easy D-Rank missions at his level? Oh right, because his byakugan would make finding a petty thief a piece of cake. Sometimes he felt like people were taking advantage of him and his bloodline limit. It's not like he was the only Hyuuga with byakugan in this goddamn village, damn it! God, was he in a bad mood today!

-

-

He quickly found the thief he was looking for and watched, hidden in a tree.

"Run, give me a handicap." Make this challenging, for Heaven's sake!

When he felt the thief had gotten far enough, he began to chase him. The guy had noticed his presence and was now trying to escape his unseen pursuer. Neji sighed. This boring game of cat and mouse had led him near the Inuzuka's house. He grunted as he read the name sign on the gate. He tried to ignore it and turned his attention back to his mission. Unfortunately, with his byakugan activated, he accidently saw through the walls of Kiba's house. And sure enough, Kiba and Tenten were inside, making out. Neji had seen them making out before, but not like this. They were kissing with such passion and infatuation. She held a hand to his hair and the other to his cheek while he rubbed her back. The two never kissed like this in public, obviously. They really looked like they were enjoying themselves alright. Neji snarled as he felt something burn inside him. Love. How disgusting. When he realized how long he had been staring, the infuriated teen turned his gaze away instinctively, but cursed. 360 vision means you can still see them, idiot. No matter the reasons, using his ability to invade people's privacy was unaceptable.

Incidentally, he had wasted so much time here that his thief had completely disappeared. The boy cursed again. How would he explain this to Tsunade-sama? Oh sorry, Tsunade-sama. I was too busy gawking at lovers making out to focus on this easy mission.

As expected, Tsunade was quite disappointed in him, though he did not explain what had happened.

"The money you failed to retrieve will be deducted from your mission money!" she decided.

The extremely pissed-off boy stormed out of the buidling and headed home. To make things worse, yes worse, he found himself near Kiba's house again! He wouldn't spy on them another time, though. He growled and punched a nearby electricity post out of frustration. His anger was such that the post broke, causing the power in many nearby houses to go out. Oh crap! As he hurried away, he noticed Akamaru sitting quietly by the gates. Poor thing, Neji thought, Kiba must've felt weird having him watching while he made out with his girlfriend so he had most likely asked him to stay outside. Akamaru eyed the boy without moving, like a lonely statue guarding the entry to a castle. The boy eyed the dog also, and proceeded to get the hell out of here.

--

--

He was in an awful mood, his wisdom teeth hurt, he still had that headache, his body was sore from training, he had seen something he had rather not, had lost a lot of money and now his fist hurt from destroying that post. He was so pissed that he forgot about his bath and went straight to bed.

--

--

Poor Neji! Nothing good happened today. Keep watching, things might get better for him. (Or worse XD). My wisdom teeth are coming out too... It's getting annoying ;/


	4. Akamaru I

-Listens to Pokemon Diamond and Pearl soundtrack as she writes this. Happy stuff.- Hello all! Here comes the new chapter! I feel as though I'm not that good at writing, because even though my ideas are good (I think?), I lack vocabulary. I have trouble explaining things with pretty words, so often I stick to basic vocabulary. This is mainly because English is my second language, not first. What do you think? Please let me know if I make grammar mistakes.

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Temari: Luna does not Naruto nor its characters. Why am I doing this disclaimer?

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Because you're a random character that won't be in the story at all. I was amused at how many of you were actually waiting for some Neji/Akamaru action XD Well there it is.

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**Black and White**

**Chapter 4**

**--**

He played less and less with him. He was busy. Busy training. Or busy with _her. _He played with her instead. Weird games that did not ressemble any kind of fetch Akamaru knew. Yes, the dog was jealous of Tenten. She had taken Kiba from him, or so he felt. He was okay with Hinata and Shino being with Kiba all the time, because they were a team, and Akamaru was part of the team too. Yet, Kiba and Tenten were a different team than did not allow any more members.

--

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One evening, Akamaru snuck out of the house for a midnight stroll while Kiba was sleeping. He went for a walk on his own. Sure, Kiba and him still went for their every day walk together, but sometimes she would come along too. Also, Akamaru had now gotten too big to ride in Kiba's jacket anymore. He wasn't large enough yet to allow Kiba to ride on his back either. He had to walk beside his master now. The dog suffered greatly from this lack of closeness. He was so used to feeling Kiba's warmth inside his jacket. Now the world seemed colder. He wished he could turn back time.

He arrived at the park they always went to and headed to the rock they'd sat on to rest and eat the lunch Kiba's sister had prepared for them. Someone else was sitting on the rock tonight, though. Akamaru wondered why someone would be out so late and sniffed the air to pick up the person's scent. He didn't like the odor because part of it smelled like Tenten. He was able to identfy the person though, so he came closer and sat beside Neji.

The teen had seem him coming but did not pay him much attention until he sat near him. "Hey. What's wrong? Came here to think too?"

Akamaru barked quietly. He recognized Neji as that guy who's with Tenten a lot and as that guy who came along on the mission to retrieve Sasuke. (But also as the person responsible for the power outage, a few days ago.) He didn't care much for the Hyuuga, but somehow he knew they felt the same tonight. Neji couldn't care less for Kiba, but had nothing against the dog and didn't mind his company right now. Neji, being the perspicacious guy he was, understood Akamaru's feelings as well.

"You wish he were back in your life, uh? I wish he were out of hers."

Akamaru whimpered. I wish _she_ were out of his life and back in yours...

Neji felt awkward talking to a dog, though he knew he was no ordinary dog. He felt sorry for him. The way he neglected Akamaru just made Neji curse at Kiba more. Love could truly hurt others around you. Still unaware of his feelings, he longed for Tenten's presence. Because even Neji Hyuuga could feel lonely sometimes. And she was the only person whose company he enjoyed. The others were too loud or obnoxious. Akamaru barked something at him, but he obviously couldn't understand a thing, making Akamaru more sad. Kiba was the only one he could share words with.

"Sorry," the boy said. "I can't do anything for you beside being here. We're pathetic, aren't we? Sitting here in the dark, feeling sorry for ourselves."

The dog whimpered again. This guy isn't so bad, he thought. The two of them watched the moon and felt the evening breeze on their face for long minutes. They were unable to think of anything that might make them feel better. Suddenly, Akamaru's ears twitched and he wagged his tail. Neji heard a voice.

"Akamaru! Are you here? Akamaru!"

The dog barked at Kiba's voice. He had come to find him after noticing he was gone.

Neji smiled weakly. "So he came for you after all. Run to your master." He was somewhat jealous.

The dog barked a goodbye, and ran to Kiba. Neji left too, but alone. Because no one would come to get _him_.

--

--

The next day, Neji was greeted by Lee's energetic voice, as usual.

"Hello, Neji! Who's that behind you? Isn't this Kiba-kun's dog?"

"He followed me here."

Akamaru had indeed followed Neji to the team's training grounds, having strayed from Kiba again. Perhaps he wanted to show his master that he was upset. He had followed Neji because he seemed like the only non-team 8 person he could turn to right now. Though, he regretted coming after him because obviously Tenten was there as well.

"Akamaru! What's wrong? Why aren't you with Kiba-kun?" She extended a hand to pet him, but the dog avoided it and lied down on the grass nearby, ignoring everyone. "This dog just doesn't like me," the girl said.

"Maybe he's jealous because he doesn't want to share Kiba-kun with you?" Lee suggested. "Yet I find it strange that he would come to hang out here."

Neji said nothing and all three started their training, while Akamaru watched. The dog felt like observing both Neji and Tenten's skills. He growled silently as he saw that the long-haired boy was definitely stronger than him and Kiba... And the girl...Akamaru refused to believe she might be superior to them.

--

--

Later in the afternoon, Kiba came to get Tenten as he often did and was surprised to find Akamaru there with her.

"Hey. Akamaru, there you are. You missed training. What's up?"

The dog barked that it was nothing and that he would be going home ahead and he left Kiba with Tenten. Lee waved goodbye and disappeared, saying something about ramen and Naruto. Neji also left, without saying a word.

Kiba raised an eyebrow at him. "What's up with that jerk, anyways? Ignoring others like he's too good for them."

Tenten frowned. "Neji might be moody, but please don't talk badly about him. He's nicer when you get to know him."

"Yeah, sorry." The boy wondered what part of Neji could possibly be nice. He only saw the Hyuuga as someone he'd rather have out of his way.

"Well, shall we go?" the girl asked.

"Yeah." He took the girl's hand in his and they headed for town. Halfway there, Kiba became somewhat anxious.

"Kiba-kun? What's wrong? You look strange," the girl noted.

"Tenten, I have a favor to ask you."

"Sure. What is it?"

"Well..." the boy staggered, afraid to ask. "My mom has finally returned home. I told her about you and she'd like to meet you. So...she wants me to ask you to come to dinner tomorrow."

Tenten remembered how Kiba said that his mother was really scary and strict. She got nervous about it also, but she agreed. "I'll come."

"Really?"

"It's only natural that I meet your mother." She had met Kiba's sister Hana already, but she knew the mom wouldn't be as easy to handle.

"Great. I hope nothing will go wrong..."

"Why would you say that?" the girl asked, unnerved.

"N-no reason...Well, see you soon?"

"Right..."

He kissed her cheek and went his seperate way. Tenten watched his back as he ran. Kiba always had this habit of saying 'see you soon?' when they parted, as if to make sure that they'd see each other again.

--

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That chapter was rather short and boring, don't you think? Well...Next one will be better. Tenten meeting Kiba's mom! Yays! Stay tuned.


	5. Tenten II

Hiya! How is it going? Thanks to those who are reviewing this fic. Even if there's few of you, as long as I know you guys are reading my story, it's enough to get me to continue it. )  
Gaara: ...  
Me: You're supposed to be doing the disclaimer, Gaara!  
Gaara:... Glares at Luna  
Me: Eep! Okay!... I don't own Naruto...or Gaara.

**Black and White**

**Chapter 5**

Tenten was walking to the Inuzuka family house, feeling more nervous with every step. What if Kiba's mother didn't like her? What if she would forbid Kiba to see her? No, she can't be that mean. The young girl decided she would just have to make a good impression on her and hope for the best . She wore her good outfit and ribbons in her hair.

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She breathed deeply before raising a finger to ring the bell. Before she could actually ring it, the door opened suddenly and Kiba let her in quietly.

"Hi. You look good. Come on in," he whispered.

Tenten entered the house and removed her shoes. "Why are you whispering? Were you waiting for me right behind the door?"

He _had_ been waiting for her and had opened the door as soon as he smelled her. Kiba put a finger to his lips. "Shh! They'll hear you!"

Before Tenten could ask who he was referring to, she was startled as she noticed a huge black dog wearing an eye patch had sneaked being her.

"Hey, Tsume! She's here!" the dog called.

Tenten jumped slightly. She wasn't used to hearing talking dogs, and this one looked really scary. Kiba sighed. Obviously, Kuromaru had smelled her too when she came in.

"She's here?" came a loud voice. "Hi, there!"

Tenten stared at what appeared to be an adult female version of Kiba. She looked just as scary as her dog did, though. The young girl bowed politely.

"I'm Tenten. Pleased to meet you, Inuzuka-san."

"The pleasure is all mine!" She gave a big, friendly slap on Kiba's back, causing him to gag. "You were trying to let her in without me noticing, uh?"

"Uh..no, of course not!"

"Let me get a good look at you." Tsume bent down and raised Tenten's chin with her finger. The young girl's heart was beating fast. "Isn't she cute, Kuromaru?" she grinned.

The black dog licked his lips. " Yeah! So cute I could eat her!"

Tenten jerked, afraid. Both the dog and Kiba's mother laughed a big hearty laugh at Tenten's reaction.

Kiba blushed, embarrassed. "Kuromaru! Mom!"

But the two just laughed some more at Kiba's attitude. Tenten stared at the scene, skeptical. So that's why Kiba was so uneasy about her meeting his mom. She looked scary, but seemed like a high-spirited person, to say the least.

--

--

The woman led her guest to the dining room. Tenten sat beside Kiba, while Tsume sat in front of them. Kuromaru sat on the floor right beside Tenten and kept staring at her, just to tease her. The young girl kept glancing at the dog every now and then, in spite of herself.

"Does my dog bother you, Tenten?" Tsume asked, pretending to be offended.

"Not at all! He's just…um…" She didn't know what to say. She was afraid Kiba's mom would feel insulted if their guest was afraid of the family dogs. Dogs _were _ important to them. She knew better than that. Both the dog and woman laughed loudly again.

"Don't worry, girl. We're just teasing you. Feel at ease here." Tsume smiled.

"Thank you, Inuzuka-san."

"Please, call me Tsume."

Kiba sighed. Now that the ice had been broken, he could relax a little. Or so he thought, because soon after, both Tsume and Kuromaru started telling Tenten about all of Kiba's embarrassing childhood moments.

"So that's how Kiba learned there were no monsters in the bathroom."

"And he wet his bed until he was nine!"

The boy hid his face in his arms, thinking he might just die of shame.

"Oh mom, leave the poor boy alone!" said a voice.

"Nee-san!"

Kiba's sister came in, carrying plates. She had been preparing dinner.

"Hana-san, good evening." Tenten said politely.

"Good evening. I hope my mother didn't scare you too much." She gave everyone their dinner, and sat down with them.

Tenten giggled nervously. "Not at all." Then she looked at her dinner. Sure was a lot of meat. Yet, the Inuzukas being big meat eaters did not surprise her. Refusing to insult the family, she ate all of it.

"By the way," Kuromaru smiled. "That was cat meat."

Tenten almost choked. The dog laughed.

Hana sighed. "No, it's not. Don't believe anything he might say." She did not mention what kind of meat it actually was, though. Tenten assumed it was probably best that she did not find out.

"Kiba," Tsume said with a now serious face. " Where is Akamaru?"

The boy lowered his head. "He must've wandered off…" He knew his mom would be unhappy hearing this. She expected the two to be an unbreakable team, always.

"Is that so…" the mother replied.

--

--

So the five of them talked all evening long, with Kuromaru and Tsume cracking a joke every now and then.

"So Gai is your sensei, uh? I'm sorry to hear that," Kiba's mom jested.

"Oh, he's not that bad once you know him."

"Tell me, Tenten," the mother asked. "What do you see in my stupid son?"

Hana laughed. "I'd like to know that myself!"

"Hey!" Kiba pouted.

Tenten blushed. "Well…he's friendly. And funny. I just like him, I guess."

The mother turned to her son. "And how far have you two gotten?"

"MOM!"

"Just kidding! I'm sorry!"

Eventually, it got late and Tenten decided it was time she headed home. Kiba and his mom lead her to the entrance. The girl bowed politely.

"Thank you for inviting me, Tsume-san."

"Come back anytime, girl!"

"Bye, Tenten." Kiba said quietly, too shy to kiss his girlfriend with his mother watching.

Tsume hit Kiba on the head. " Where are your manners? Walk your girlfriend home!"

"R-right…" He meant to do that, but he couldn't wait to hear what his mother had to say about his girlfriend once she left.

Tenten waved good-bye, and the two young ninjas left. Once they were far enough, Kiba took the girl's hand in his.

"Sorry about tonight," he said. He sure was ashamed of his mother sometimes.

"It's fine. It seems you were more embarrassed than I was! I had fun. Your mom isn't so bad.

"Glad to hear it. You know, they might've seemed crazy tonight, but my mom and Kuromaru are such a powerful team in battle! Nothing can stop them! I want Akamaru and I to be just the same."

That spark in Kiba's eyes as he talked about her that way showed Tenten just how much the boy truly admired his mother, despite her being embarrassing sometimes. She thought it was cute.

The young lovers walked in silence until they reached Tenten's house. The boy kissed the girl's forehead, saying good night. Tenten was somewhat unsatisfied with that.

"Don't be so bashful, silly.Your mom isn't watching anymore." And she threw her arms around his neck and kissed him for real, on his lips.

Kiba was surprised and blushed, but eagerly kissed her back. He enjoyed her sweet scent and the warmth of her chest pressed against his. It's true that he was shy to kiss in public, despite how much he openly boasted about his relationship to his pals. When they were alone, though, she really brought out a part of him that he usually kept hidden.

He broke the kiss softly. "Can I visit your home next time?" Kiba had still never seen the inside of the girl's house.

"Good night now," she said teasingly.

He smiled. "See you soon?"

"Of course." And she disappeared behind the door.

Kiba turned around and sighed. He would go search for Akamaru before returning home. It worried him.

--

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Weee! Did you like this chapter? I did! Please review and tune in next time.


	6. Neji II

It's that time again. Time for a new chapter. I gotta do these while I'm still on vacation. College really gets me busy. This is an important chapter, so pay attention )

Asuma-sensei: Yeah, Luna does not own Naruto. is a random character with no chances of appearing in this story.

**Black and White**

**Chapter 6**

"It's already July 1st, time sure passed quickly," Tenten mused as she shielded her eyes from the sun with her hand as she watched the blue summer sky.

It had been three months since she and Kiba had begun going out. It's not like they saw each other all the time, however. Often, they wouldn't see each other for days because one or the other was away on a mission. And of course, they also had training sessions. So, most of the time they spent together was when Kiba would come pick her up after training and they would walk home together, or sometimes they would hang out a little.

Kiba grinned at the date she had mentionned. "Yeah, and you know whose birthday is coming up soon?"

Tenten put her hands together as she remembered. "Yeah, I gotta remember to get him a present."

The boy raised an eyebrow. "I meant me!"

"Oh right! Your birthday is four days after Neji's, isn't it?"

Kiba grunted silently. Why did that guy have his birthday so close to his? Furthermore, Tenten had remembered that Neji's birthday was coming up, but not his.

--

--

So July 3rd was another usual training day for Team Gai. Except Lee and Gai had insisted on singing Neji the Happy Birthday Song. The long-haired boy ignored them completely (or at least he tried to), while Tenten winced at the tone-deaf singers. That day, Neji left the group early.

"You don't want to hang out with us?" the girl had asked.

"It's your birthday, be youthful!" Lee had added.

"No, thanks. I'm going home," came the silent reply. And the boy left.

Later, when it was time for Lee and Tenten to leave, the girl had gone without waiting for Lee nor Kiba.

"Yo, where's Tenten?" Kiba asked Lee as he came to pick up his girlfriend.

"It appears as though she had things to take care of and she said to go home without her."

"Aw well. Let's go then."

Kiba and Lee headed for town together. They had become somewhat friends lately, due to the dog-boy joining them all the time. Neji actually did not understand how Lee could walk casually with both Tenten and Kiba without problem. Then again, Lee did not share his feelings towards neither the boyfriend nor the girlfriend.

--

--

Meanwhile, Tenten made her way hesitantly through the Hyuuga compound. She had thought about it, and came to the conclusion that someone spending their birthday alone was just too sad. She had trouble finding Neji's room. She couldn't help but notice how everyone was staring at her. She stood out like chocolate in a sea of vanilla here. It annoyed her that all the houses looked the same, and especially that all Hyuuga looked alike as well, long black hair and white eyes and all. Even Hinata, who had been different until now, had started to let her hair grow long too. Gees.

She finally found Neji's door and knocked. Twice. But no answer came. She twisted the doorknob and the door was unlocked, so she slipped in carefully.

"Sorry for the intrusion..." she said quietly. But the room appeared empty.

She closed the door behind her, removed her shoes, and took a look at Neji's apartment. She had never really seen the inside of it. It was certainly smaller than hers. Strange. Somehow she imagined the Hyuuga to be somewhat wealthy. The light was dim through the bland curtains on the small window. Everything was neat and tidy though, just like she would've imagined. There was space only to fit the regular appliances, a bed, a desk, a dresser and a book case. Tenten observed the books in it. Not a single novel or manga in sight. Only big complicated books about history, science or ninja stuff. Wait, she did spot a manga. But it was old and damaged and it was a series that had been out of print for years. She guessed it must've been a childhood memory.

Suddenly, she heard a click and turned around, only to find Neji coming out of the bathroom, hair wet, wearing a towel around his waist. He thought he had heard something, his eyed widened with a 'what the hell??' expression as he saw her teammate snooping through his books.

The girl put the manga back as fast as she could. "Sorry! I-I knocked and the door was unlocked and..and…" she staggered while eyeing his bare chest, in spite of herself.

The young man frowned. "Wait here." And he disappeared back into the bathroom.

Tenten sighed. He would be pissed at her for coming in uninvited. She sat on his bed, but instantly jumped up as she felt something spiky under her. She reached for it and found a hairbrush. She sat, and pulled a long black silky hair from the the brush. The girl sighed again. How did he manage to keep his hair so shiny all the time? She wished she knew. She had trouble with her own hair.

--

--

Neji came back out, fully clothed this time. Tenten looked at him with sad eyes.

"I'm sorry," she said again.

The boy made a few steps forward and eyed her with scowling pearly eyes. Looking up at him from her sitting position, he certainly looked imposing.

"It's my fault for being careless. Why are you here?" he asked calmly.

"Because," she said firmly. "No one should be alone on their birthday!"

He sighed. "Is that the reason? I'm fine." He was annoyed that she had invaded his privacy and yet, he was touched that she cared.

"It's your birthday! How boring is it to remain inside?"

"My birthday is of no importance. It's just another day." _Her_ birthday, however, was special. It meant one more year that she had grown more beautiful, one more year he thanked God for her existence. "May I have that?" he added, referring to the hairbrush she still had in her hands.

She smiled. "Can I ask a favor?" He stayed silent so she continued. "Let me brush your hair! Please!"

Neji's eyes widened at this strange request. "What?"

"It's so long and beautiful. It's every girl's dream! Please?" she pleaded.

"Fine." Normally, he wouldn't have agreed, but no one would see them here and it was rare that she would ask something from him.

He sat on the floor, right below her, and undid his headbands. He put them beside him and closed his eyes. What a situation she had created for him! Tenten smiled happily and ran the hairbrush through Neji's delicate hair gently. Wow, almost no knots. The tiny ones were easily untangled with one stroke of the brush. Any other guy could've blushed in this embarassing situation, but Neji found himself switching from being unwilling to a more relaxed state. The feeling of someone brushing your hair so softly was actually quite pleasant. Tenten ran her other hand through it occasionally just to feel any more knots, sending invisible shivers down the boy's back.

She broke the tasteful silence by asking a question. "So, your wisdom teeth, do they still hurt?"

"Not as much, they're almost out now," he said as he turned to face her. "See?." He opened his mouth for Tenten to see.

"Oh right, I can see them," she said, confused about Neji's behavior.

The boy turned his head back for Tenten to continue brushing, but she did not. Instead, he felt something wet on his shoulder. He looked back again and found tears in the girl's eyes.

"What's the matter?" he asked, confused as well.

"Your teeth…you showed them to me," she explained faintly.

"What about it?"

She wiped the tears from her face, not wanting to cry in front of him. "You wouldn't show them to me before. And now you just did so easily. It seems like…after all this time…you're finally opening up to me."

That's true, he thought, realizing he _did _show her his teeth without even thinking. Maybe it was the mood, or the fact that they shared a private moment, but he had acted contradictory to his normal nature. It felt wrong. But when she threw her arms around his neck and hugged him, saying "I'm so glad!", it felt very right. That's when he knew. That's when he understood. Part of him wanted to push her away because he did not like this kind of physical contact, while another part felt like hugging her back.

Heck, he _was _hugging her back! When he noticed this, he immediately let go and hurried to the bathroom.

Tenten suddenly felt bad. She probably shouldn't have hugged him, she knew he disliked being touched. Maybe she had only imagined that he had opened up to her lately. Maybe he was upset with her now.

Neji looked at his reflection in the mirror. What was wrong with him? That wasn't like him at all! He looked at his finely brushed loose hair and remembered the warmth of Tenten's breath on his neck. He felt warm inside and got nervous. Was that a blush on his cheeks? He splashed cold water on his face. Impossible. This can't be! No freaking way!

When he came back a few moments later, Tenten apologized again.

"I'm sorry. Maybe it's best I left."

_Yes, that probably would be best_. "Stay," is what he said instead, surprising both Tenten and himself.

He sat on a chair, put his hairbands back on and she looked at him. The silence was awkward and made her uneasy. Neji wasn't good at conversations. In fact, he evaded them when possible.

"Tell me," she said after a few moments of silence. "What do you use on your hair to have it looking like that?"

"Shampoo."

"What kind?"

"The regular brand from the store."

"Really?"

"Yes."

"Wow, that's amazing."

"…"

Tenten was somewhat irritated that she had to spend hours and money for expensive shampoo to get her hair to look good, while his was amazingly beautiful with no effort. How unfair.

"Oh, I almost forgot!" The girl got up and grabbed the bag she had left by the door when she first came in. She handed it to Neji. It's a present for you!"

"That was unnecessary," he said as he looked inside.

There was a long-sleeved shirt, white with black sleeves and a black collar.

"I know it's not really your style, but I thought maybe you'd like to try something new."

Neji wondered why in the world Tenten would buy him a shirt she knew he wouldn't like. But he thanked her, nonetheless. Maybe he really should try something different.

There was another silence. Then Tenten spoke again.

"We shouldn't be inside, it's nicer out there. Let's grab a bite to eat. I'm inviting you, cause it's your birthday."

"Fine. If it makes you happy." It made him happy too, not mentionning he was also short on money ever since his screw-up with the thief a few weeks ago.

She smiled and extended a hand to help him up. "You're fifteen now. You should celebrate!" While I thank God for another year of your existence.

She waited as he locked the door and both headed to town. The sun was almost completely set. The sky was a mix of blue and purple, with a faint glow of orange at the horizon. A beautiful sight, but not as much as Neji's smile. A beautiful smile that couldn't be seen by anyone. He smiled on the inside.

He was in love.

-

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Gaaah! I really enjoyed writing this chapter! Next time: Kiba's birthday! Please review!


	7. Kiba II

Huzzah! What's up? I'm currently freezing to death in my crappy apartment. It's hard being a poor student.

Shizune: Right. Luna does not own Naruto. Tell me, why is this fic called Black and White?

Well, 'black and white' is an expression that refers to two things that are completely different and opposite. In this case, black and white obviously refer to Kiba and Neji. Though it's up to you to decide which one is 'black' and which one is 'white'.

**Black and White**

**Chapter 7**

July 7th. The sky was clear and the sun was hot. Just like it had been on Neji's birthday, actually. Now, though, it was Kiba's day. Akamaru happily trailed after him and Tenten today, because it was also his birthday and he was determined not to let his ill feelings toward the girl ruin his and Kiba's special occasion.

So Tenten bought them both dinner, which her wallet did not enjoy very much as this dinner costed three times more than the one she paid for Neji. At least they were happy... After that, the girl insisted that she _absolutely _had to borrow something important from Naruto and that they should head to his apartment right now. Luckily for her, Kiba isn't always the brightest of guys. He did not wonder why in the world Tenten would need something from Naruto so badly, especially since the two of them barely ever talked. He didn't ask about the fact that Tenten had trouble finding the blonde's place either.

The girl knocked on the door, and sure enough, when Naruto opened up with a huge grin, every one of their friends were inside.

"Surprise! Happy Birthday!" they all shouted.

"Oh crap, " Kiba let out, a big smile on his face. " I totally wasn't expecting this!"

Tenten couldn't help but roll her eyes. He _really_ had not expected it. At least the surprise was a success. The two stepped inside. There were some balloons and a bunch of chips in the living room of Naruto's small apartment. Actually, not everyone of the 'Konoha Eleven' were there. Shino was absent because he disliked loud and crowded places. Neji was also not here for the same reasons, plus he couldn't care less about Kiba.

Kiba turned to Tenten. "Did you organize this?"

She shook her head. Actually, it was Hinata's idea."

"Really?" The boy smiled and eyed the room for Hinata. He saw her behind everyone, blushing. "Thanks, Hinata! I wouldn't have expected this from you."

"It's..it's nothing. I just thought you'd be happy and…" the shy girl said.

The boy grinned. "I am!" Because Hinata did it just for him.

--

--

So the gang just hung out, eating junk food, listening to music and playing video games, like normal teenagers should. Kiba received a bunch of gifts, mostly food, while Akamaru got some bones and treats and various pats on the head. It had been a while since the dog had received that kind of attention.

"Naruto, don't you think the music's a little loud? Your neighbors might not like it," Sakura said, speaking loudly to be heard.

"Nah! They don't mind!"

"Turn that racket down!" came a muffled voice accompanied by a knock on the floor.

"What was that?" the pink haired girl asked.

"Nothing!" And Naruto turned the volume higher.

Later, as often the case with teenagers, the girls ended up grouped together to gossip and stuff while the boys were left somewhere else.

"So tell us, Tenten," Ino whispered. "Is Kiba a good kisser?"

The brown-haired girl blinked at the girly question. "I guess...why would you want to know that?"

"It's what girls do! Somehow, I can't imagine that Kiba could be a good kisser." the blond added.

Tenten frowned at the somewhat insult and tried to get back at her. "Then who was _your_ first kiss?"

Ino looked to the side and scratched her face nervously with her finger. "Well... can't say I had one...But as soon as Sasuke comes back..."

"Sasuke-kun will be _my_ first kiss!" Sakura shouted.

"No way!"

"Yeah!"

Tenten sweatdropped as the two rivals fought, and Hinata blushed.

"T-Tenten...um…" the shy girl said, blushing even more. "Wha..what is it like...kissing... your first love?"

The other girl stopped to think for a moment. "I don't know." Her voice was suddenly quieter.

Hinata was confused. "But...Kiba-kun..."

"Can't say he's my first love. He's the first to return my feelings, however."

Hinata got a bit sad for Kiba, for a strange reason. Then again, Naruto's first love was Sakura, so she was in a similar situation. Maybe, just maybe, she'd be his second?

Sakura stopped fighting when she heard their conversation. "Who was your first love, then?"

"Yeah, who was it?" Ino asked with curiosity.

"No one..."

"It better not be Sasuke-kun!"

"Yeah! It better not!"

Tenten laughed nervously. The girliness of her friends was too much for her. She had been labeled a tomboy before, and she thought it was better this way.

--

--

Meanwhile, the boys sat on the couch playing games or eating chips, and their conversation turned to something a bit different than the girls'.

"Kiba, you never wear your hood anymore?" Shikamaru asked, bored.

"Not really. Tenten says I'm sexier without it." What she had actually said was that he looked 'nicer' without it.

"So...how are things going with Tenten," Naruto asked mischieviously.

Kiba knew what he meant with that tone of voice and played along. "I'd say things are going pretty good..." While he was actually shy when it came to Tenten, that certainly did not stop him from bragging.

Chouji joined in. "Tell us, have you done it? Uh?"

Kiba hid a blush. "That's a secret." Because saying yes would be a lie.

Shikamaru sighed at Naruto and Chouji. "You're so troublesome. That stuff is none of your business."

"Shikamaru-kun is right," Lee said, offended. "Naruto-kun, Chouji-kun, I'd appreciate if you did not speak of Kiba-kun and Tenten's private matters."

Naruto snorted. "You're no fun."

"Get your own girlfriend." Shikamaru replied.

--

--

Once it got very late, everyone started to leave. Kiba thanked his friends again and left with Akamaru, followed by Tenten and Lee. The four of them headed home, and they came to Kiba's house first.

"Hope you had fun," the girl said, as she got closer to her boyfriend.

"I did." He got closer to her too, but eyed Lee, embarassed.

The older boy turned his back to them. "I'm not looking. Pretend I'm not even here."

Tenten smiled at her ridiculous friend and kissed Kiba, but quickly, because he knew he'd still be shy with Lee being there and also because Akamaru was watching. It would be rude to take too long, anyways.

"Bye now." Tenten waved.

"Do not worry, Kiba-kun. I shall make sure your lady makes it home safely!"

Kiba smiled. If only Tenten's other teammate was this accommodating. "You do that. See you soon?"

"Yes," the girl replied.

Kiba went inside and the two others carried on. It was pretty late and both were tired.

"Tenten," Lee said with a serious voice. "Have you noticed a strange behavior with Neji lately?"

"Actually, I have." She smiled. "He's been a lot nicer lately. He's like a different person. I even saw him smile."

"What? I meant to say that he's been moody and irritable, more than usual."

"No way! He seemed okay to me."

"That's very strange. I wonder if he's been nice to you and ill-tempered to everyone else, for some reason?" the boy suggested.

"You probably just caught him on a bad day," she shrugged.

A bad day that's been going on for weeks? Lee kept that comment for himself. They finally arrived to Tenten's place.

She yawned. "Thanks for taking me home. You'll be okay on your own?"

He raised his hand to his forehead, in a saluting way. "Yes, m'am! I have accomplished my mission and shall now take my leave. You go sleep peacefully."

"I will, thanks. Goodnight, Lee."

"Goodnight, my lady." And he bowed the way a knight would and left.

Tenten closed the door and smiled at Lee's silliness. She was glad she had a boy in her life that wasn't a boyfriend nor a hard to grasp, mood-swinging person.

That night, Tenten had a weird dream where she was a medieval princess, and Kiba and Neji were both knights who were fighting each other, for some unknown reason. Then a giant Lee wearing an obvious and crappy dragon costume arrived, and kicked them both into oblivion. Dragon-Lee roared something that ressembled "Gai-sensei!!" and suddenly Gai was there, being the king, Tenten's father. Then they started dancing, so Tenten woke up because it was just too disturbing.

----

--

Lol. What a funky dream. There's still a few chapters to this story, so I hope you're enjoying it. Please review! You know that happy feeling you get when you receive a review? Because someone cared enough to spend a few seconds of their time for you. Next time: Umm..maybe something somewhat dirty? XD


	8. Akamaru II

Hola! Coma esta? XD It's that time again..writing a new chapter! I've had ideas for other stories, but I prefer to finish this one first. Don't like juggling too many projects. But because of school, I won't have much time to write anymore.. Please review! Feedback is the fuel that gets work done for me. I made a fanart based on this fic, see it here: (remove the spaces and copy the code ) http / www . deviantart . com / deviation / 46477494 /

**Disclaimer: **I had a dream about Shikamaru last night, but I woke up before things got "interesting"...

Shikamaru: Oo Where is the disclaimer in this? Luna does not own Naruto. Nor me.

**Black and White**

**Chapter 8**

Kiba took the most thorough bath he had ever taken in his life. He scrubbed his skin so hard, it left a pink mark. He made sure not to forget behind his ears and in between his toes. He was determined on erasing any trace of dog smell off of him, so he used some of his sister's sweet-smelling shampoo and washed his hair carefully, a thing he failed to do most of the time. In fact, he also used his sister's soap. Usually, he avoided it because he thought the smell was too strong, but today, he had to smell _clean_! He got out of the water, wrapped a towel around his waist and looked at himself in the mirror.

"Kiba, you're one sexy man!" He grinned at himself.

He felt fresher than he had ever felt before. Cleanliness wasn't one of Kiba's priorities at all, so he felt weird. Real men had to stink, he thought, but girls might not appreciate "real men" like that. He looked at his spotless face and pondered whether he should paint his red markings on his cheeks or leave them blank. He decided he wouldn't be an Inuzuka without them, so he did paint them. He brushed his hair, surprised he still remembered how to use a hairbrush.

He dressed tidily and got out of the bathroom. He then sneaked into his sister's room and borrowed her perfume. He thought Hana smelled really good, unlike him, and he wanted to smell like her today. However, Kiba was unaware that perfume for men and for women were different.

The cleansed boy went down the stairs to put on his sandals, now ready to head out. Akamaru's head turned instantly as he smelled the unusual scent of his master. Was that really Kiba? He smelled like strawberry! And flowers. What the... The dog barked.

"What?" the dog-boy asked. "You're just not used to me smelling good! Well, I'm off." Akamaru whimpered. "Sorry, Akamaru. You can't come today. You'll have to play alone. See ya."

He petted the dog's head and ran off. Akamaru lied down and whimpered. Kiba had forgotten to take him on a walk today. Or maybe he just couldn't be bothered to do it? He growled quietly. Tenten. Of course Kiba wouldn't take such a perfect bath for anyone else! The dog stirred and rolled on his back. Maybe he'd just take a walk on his own and never come back! No... Of course he'd come back. Akamaru sighed. Was he supposed to not care?

"What's wrong, kid?" a deep voice asked.

Akamaru twisted his head to see who talked, though he already knew from the smell. He got back on his feet to face Kuromaru.

_Nothing..._

"Don't give me that," the large black dog scolded. "Everyone can see you're not being yourself lately. Did something happen between you and Kiba?"

_The girl._

"Oh, so that's it. You're jealous of Kiba's little girlfriend."

Akamaru turned his head around and groaned almost inaudibly. Kuromaru smirked. The little guy was jealous. How cute.

"Listen, Akamaru." Kuromaru sat down and prepared his speech. "No matter how you look at it, Kiba is a human teenage boy, and it's only normal that he'd want to be with human teenage girls. It's nature. You felt it too, I'm sure. That feeling that pushes you to get with females when you get to a certain age..."

The white dog almost blushed. Sure, he had sniffed a few female dogs' behinds, but it was never anything serious. Nothing that would have him leaving Kiba.

"The boy is still new to this mating stuff. Once he settles down, he'll come back to normal, you'll see."

_Did Tsume-san ever get a mate?_

Kuromaru chuckled. "Oh, she did alright. But Tsume isn't one to settle down. She kicked Hana's father out quickly and she left Kiba's father too because he was getting in the way of our training. That woman's just not keen on men, I say."

Akamaru's ears dropped. So Kuromaru did not understand what he felt at all. He never had that problem. Tsume's top priority was always Kuromaru and her training.

"Anyways, he is your partner, so you should let him know how you feel and perhaps you should get to know this delicious-looking female of his," the large dog said as he remembered how cute Tenten looked.

_But I'm still lonely._

Akamaru turned around and headed out. Kuromaru just watched him leave. He'd be alright, in time.

--

--

Kiba whistled as he walked cheerfully to Tenten's apartment. She had invited him over for the first time. The young man was happy. His first girlfriend and he had managed to keep her all that time and things were going great. Well, apart from that moody, glare-friendly, jealous teammate of hers.

He ran a hand through his hair and rang the bell to the girl's door. Tenten greeted him sweetly and let him in. The boy removed his sandals and looked around him. Tenten's apartment was neat and tidy and smelled good, just like he had imagined. (Though she did clean-up before he came, because she could be messy too.) His eyes widened at the many sharp objects he could see everywhere. He'd be scared if he did not know her any better.

"Would you like some tea?" the girl asked as she headed for the kitchen.

He didn't like tea much. "Can I get milk instead?"

"Sure."

Kiba sat down at the small table in the small kitchen and wondered how people could live in such tiny spaces. He had always lived in that big house of his, he couldn't imagine living any other way. Tenten poured herself some tea and handed a glass of milk to her boyfriend. The boy grabbed her hand as she withdrew it and held her palm close to his face.

"Your hand... it smells like cookies!" From the way he said that, the girl thought he was about to eat her hand.

"I did eat one or two..." she said nervously.

He kissed her palm. "You smell so good."

"Thanks, I guess." That sense of smell of his... or was it his appetite? He'd enjoy cookie-scented perfume if that would exist. It was her turn to smell Kiba now, though. "You, however, you smell strange."

Kiba let go of her hand and sulked a little. "I bathed real hard, just for you. Don't I smell good?"

"You smell like a girl, Kiba-kun."

"But," he pouted. "I'm clean!"

She chuckled a bit. "I can see that, but Kiba-kun, you smell like women's perfume and you hair smells like the hair products I use."

"I used my sister's stuff. I'm so used to smelling like me, I didn't know..."

"That's okay," she laughed. "You do smell very good, but you smell like a woman."

Kiba blushed, embarassed. Tenten sat in front of him and sipped on her tea. The two fell silent for a few minutes. The girl did think that Kiba smelled like a dog normally, but it did not bother her. She mused on how she had been told that she smelled like flowers, how Lee smelled like sweat because he worked too hard, while Neji had no scent at all. Neji smelled like Neji, and nothing else. Not that Tenten had the chance to smell him very much, she rarely got close enough to him.

"Neji..." Kiba said suddenly, Tenten jumping a little because she thought he had read her mind. "What is he to you?"

The yound woman blinked at the question. "What do you mean?"

"What is he to you?" he repeated.

She thought for a moment before replying. "He's my teammate, my friend. Why do you ask?"

"I don't like him. He's always glaring at me."

Tenten frowned. "You're always glaring at him yourself, aren't you?"

"He wants to keep you all to himself!" he let slip.

The girl frowned even more. "What are you talking about?"

"He likes you. He doesn't think I love you for real," he explained, remembering his conversation with Neji when the latter had just learned about his teammate's new boyfriend.

"That's not true. You're just being jealous. I assure you, Neji doesn't need me as anything other than his training partner..." Her voiced trailed off as she said this.

Kiba was not convinced, but it's not like he could order her to not see Neji anymore. She wouldn't like him trying to control her.

"Besides," she continued, "you two have a lot in common.You both dislike zoos, and your birthdays are so close to one another. You're both Cancer, a water sign ruled by the Moon. Individuals born under this sign tend to be emotional, romantic, imaginative but also prone to moodiness, hypersensitivity, depression, and clinginess."

Tenten thought the adjectives she just named fitted Kiba well, but she had trouble applying 'romantic' to Neji, though she would've liked to believe he was. The Hyuuga was also anything but clingy, but the Moon as his ruling planet and water as his element fitted Neji perfectly, she thought.

Kiba and Neji shared another common point in that they both thought that astrology and fortune telling were a load of crap, but never would they admit it so rudely to someone's whose hobby was just that.

--

--

Kiba thought he was in heaven as he ate the dinner Tenten had prepared just for him. He didn't get to eat chinese food often, and he loved it. Of course, he'd love anything that his girlfriend would make. Later, they settled comfortably on the couch and decided to watch a movie. Kiba hoped she wouldn't choose a sappy love movie. He remembered how Hinata liked cute movies about lil animals and thought that Tenten wasn't that kind of girl. What Tenten liked were movies with a cool, tough heroine that never was the damsel in distress. Movies were girls kicked butts and saved the day instead of men. And that is exactly what they watched.

A few minutes after it had started, Kiba casually put his arm around Tenten's shoulders and she snuggled up to him. Kiba blushed.

_The lights are dim, you are all alone with your girlfriend in an empty apartment, no one's watching. Kiba, you're the man!_

He was so lost in all kind of pervert thoughts that he did not realize the movie was over and that he had missed half of it.

"She really whiped the floor with those guys, uh?" the girl asked with a smile.

"R-right..." the boy replied, though he had no idea what had happened.

Then, an akward silence fell. It was getting late. Kiba was unsure what he was expected to do. Should he ask if he could stay over? Or not? Was it too soon for that? Tenten was pondering similar things.

Kiba spoke finally. "I guess I'll be heading h..."

Tenten cut him off. "Would you like to stay over?"

The boy hid a smile. "I suppose I could..." _Oh God, I thought you'd never ask!_

She showed him her bedroom. It was small and clean, and if it weren't for yet more sharp pointy weapons, it'd look cute. He looked around and touched her stuff curiously, in an ill-mannered way that contrasted how polite he had been when they first got together.

She slapped his wrist gently. "No touching. I'm gonna get changed. Wait a sec," Tenten said as she left him alone.

He sat on the bed and blushed, imagining her returning in a skimpy outfit and suddenly he felt very excited and anxious. He felt the blood rush through his body as he eyed the pink pillow on the bed. He _was_ expected to share her bed, right? Oh boy. He heard footsteps and turned to face Tenten expectedly, hiding a blush. She wore large pink pyjamas with little bunnies on it and her hair loose. Ok, so it wasn't a skimpy outfit, but she looked lovely nonetheless.

She sat next to him on the bed and there was another awkward moment. Both were unsure of what they should do. Kiba decided he was a man and as such, he had to make a move. He turned his face to her.

"Tenten," he said in a soft voice he never knew he had. "I love you."

The girl replaced a lock of hair behind her ear and blushed. "I love you too, Kiba-kun."

He put a hand behind her head and the other on her thigh. He brought her closer and they kissed, their hands playing around each other's bodies in the process. At that moment, Tenten had a random thought about Neji, but she quickly shoved it away. That wasn't the correct time to be thinking about him at all.

Kiba gently layed her on the bed and kissed her neck a few times. She let out a pleasant sigh, and he carefully slipped a hand under the top of her pyjamas, his breathing quickening. She did the same, feeling each muscle on his chest with her right hand, while the left one searched for the small lamp on the bedside and turned it off.

The rest came naturally.

--

--

Blissfully unaware of what was happening on the other side of the village, Neji was out for a midnight walk, like he was every other night or so recently. It was a nice night to be out too, and this time, he was the one to discover someone else sitting in his spot. When he saw the long-haired boy approach, Akamaru wagged his tail and jumped off the rock Neji usually sat on whenever he came here. Neji smiled that smug smile of his and sat down, the dog sitting right beside him. He petted the dog's head, but rather quickly. Petting animals was unlike him, not that he disliked them. What he had done was just to let Akamaru know he acknowledged him. Since Akamaru was "just a dog", Neji did not care that he knew about his "secret".

The young man looked up at the stars and smiled. He loved her. He knew it now. Neji had always thought that he was above all that, especially when seeing how stupid Lee acted around Sakura, In the end, he was just as weak as the rest of them...but yes, he truly was in love with her. Not that it would change anything. He'd still have no time for futile things like dating, nor did he want to be a sappy romantic. He wouldn't acknowledge the urge he felt to hold Tenten in his arms either. None of that mattered anyways, because she loved Kiba.

Kiba. The boy's expression changed as he thought about the dog-boy. He could live with the fact that Tenten had chosen Kiba, despite the fact that he was loud and obnoxious. What really pissed Neji off was the way Kiba bragged about it to the others, Tenten was mostly unaware of it too. He had overheard Kiba talking with Naruto and Chouji once. While the Inuzuka wasn't stupid enough to go around telling everyone Tenten's secrets, he certainly did not mind telling the jealous boys about how the girl's tongue felt like, or where she liked to be touched, or even the nice things she said to him when they were alone. Kiba liked making the other two envious, and that only made Neji more furious. He was disgusted by the way Kiba openly talked about these things, things that should be kept private. Things that concerned Tenten. He couldn't forgive anyone who would defile his teammate that way. That's why he truly hated Kiba, but Tenten loved him, so he had to make do with it, no matter how wrong it sounded.

While Akamaru appreciated having someone with him, Neji was no replacement for Kiba. After all, the Hyuuga barely talked to him nor touched him. He was just "there", but the dog needed someone to be "there" right now, no matter how silent he may be. Akamaru thought back to what Kuromaru had told him. Would things really return to normal after a little time? It had been months already. He felt that things would only become worse. Overcomed by sadness, he howled to the moon.

"Be quiet," Neji said in a voice that wasn't scolding. That voice meant "It's no use crying."

Akamaru, thankful that someone knew his pain, then placed his front paws on Neji's knees and reached closer to lick the boy's face.

Neji pushed the dog away and whiped his face wih his sleeve. He had received his first kiss from a dog. How ridiculous.

---

---

Woo! Another chapter done! Yay for implied sex? XD Not much details on that but you know…I'm not _that kind_ of author. I do believe they're too young for that, but you know...things happen. Poor Neji, if only he knew what was going on, I wonder what he would do? Maybe he and Akamaru should run away together and get married? Nah, just kidding. **Please review!** Come on, I need to know you like this story and that I'm not writing it for nothing ;;


	9. Tenten III

Things are finally heating up in this chapter. This is what you would call the climax? Thanks for the reviews.

Disclaimer: Not owning!

**Black and White**

**Chapter 9**

Training had been over for a while now, even Lee had gone home. Neji asked for Tenten to train with him a while longer, though the girl didn't understand his motives much. If perfection didn't exist, Neji's kaiten was dang close to it, so why continue when both were exhausted? However, since Neji barely ever requested something of her, she decided to oblige. Well, requested is too light a word. More like demanded. She was supposed to be meeting Kiba, but thought that he could wait a little.

"Okay," Tenten panted. "I'm sorry, I can't go on."

"That's fine. Let's stop. Thanks."

She grabbed a water bottle and drank half of it. "Why are you so eager to train today?" She threw the bottle at him.

He caught it and drank the remaining water, sharing personal items or even germs being nothing unusual for them after all those years together. "I guess I had excess energy to burn."

"Well, I should be going..."

"Tenten," he cut her off. "There's something I want to tell you."

The girl looked at him curiously. "Something to tell me?"

The boy took a few steps closer to her, the distance between them was now one foot at most. Neji, never afraid of telling exactly what he thought, wanted to be honest with himself so he told her directly and bluntly.

"I love you."

"Say that again, I think I misheard you." Was her ears playing tricks on her?

He repeated. "I love you."

She looked at him for a while, unable to say anything. What was he talking about? He loved her? As in, romantic love? "I don't believe it. Are you serious?"

"I'm in love with you, Tenten."

Neji had expected her to be surprised, confused or even angry, but the expression on Tenten's face was one of pain and sadness.

"Why now, of all times? You're not fair at all."

"I don't understand what you mean," the boy said.

Unable to look him in the eye, she turned her gaze to the grass at her feet. "I had loved you for months. Ever since I was worried sick over you when you came back half-dead from the mission to retrieve Sasuke, I knew I loved you, Neji."

Neji continued to listen to her, unable to say a word. He couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"But you never paid much attention to me. You barely talked to me outside of missions or training and you never seemed that concerned about me."

Each word pierced the bewildered Hyuuga like a knife. Is this how she truly felt? That he never cared about her? Well, it was true that he had only shown interest in her recently. Before that, she was just a normal friend, a teammate. Perhaps he hadn't been taking good enough care of his friends... So she was right about him, after all.

Tenten's story was still not over. "It hurt, you know? So eventually, I gave up and I moved on. Then I found Kiba-kun and..."

What she had just said reminded Neji about what Kiba had told him the first time they had confronted each other.

_Hinata only has eyes for Naruto. I'd be a fool wasting my time forever. I have Tenten now._

In the end, Tenten and Kiba were just two heartbroken souls, caught in a one-sided love with a Hyuuga, who had eventually found each other.

Neji cursed mentally. He had failed to notice Tenten's feelings all along, and now they belonged to someone else. It's only after something has been taken away that you truly realize how much it meant to you. Now it was too late, what a fool he had been. If only he had paid attention to others more before.

"I'm sorry. I never realized." Apologizing was all he had left to do.

Now she looked at him with angry eyes filled with sorrow. Why did he have to tell her that _now_? She had a boyfriend now. If only he had told her before...

The young man looked at her, upset and saddened he had caused her pain. He never meant that. The strong young woman he knew now seemed very fragile in front of his eyes.

"You're so unthoughful..." Her voiced trembled.

Suddenly, Neji felt like she would break down and cry and he refused to be the cause of her tears. Obeying an unknown force, he quickly grabbed her arm and pulled her closer almost brutally, and with a hand behind her neck, he pressed his lips on hers. He knew he would regret it. He knew he shouldn't. He knew she might hate him after, but right now, he didn't care.

Tenten answered the kiss back.

His heart jumped. Not wondering why, how or where, he just enjoyed this moment while it lasted..

But because fate hates Neji ever since he gave up on it, Kiba chose this exact time to come looking for Tenten because she was taking too long. His timing was perfect to see Neji pulling his girlfriend into a kiss, except that from his angle, it seemed like Neji had violently forced Tenten to kiss him.

Neji's heavenly moment was abruptly ended with a harsh punch to his face. Taken completely off guard, he fell to the ground.

"YOU BASTARD! WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING??" Kiba growled, fangs bared and face wrinkled from the severe frown he displayed. His eyes were those of a mad beast.

Tenten was shocked by Kiba's fierce entry, but also by how scary he looked right now. And he had seen them. "Kiba-kun! I..I can explain…"

Kiba still stared at a scowling Neji picking himself up from the floor as he addressed his girlfriend. "Tenten, did that guy just force himself on you!?"

The frightened girl search for what to say. Kiba thought Neji had used force to kiss her? If she lied and said that was the case, Kiba wouldn't think badly of her but she'd betray Neji. On the other hand, if she told her boyfriend the truth, he would most likely break up with her.

"The truth is..."

Before she could continue, Neji cut her off. "That's right. I did force myself on her."

"HOW DARE YOU!!"

Kiba punched him again, but this time he was expecting it so he did not fall over. However, he did topple a few steps backward, and had to wipe the blood from his mouth. Tenten's eyes widened in shock as she watched him take all the blame. Why did he do that? Why would he accept to throw his pride away and look bad for her sake?

"Stop!" The girl grabbed Kiba's arm to prevent him from hurting Neji any more. "He's not like that!"

Kiba ignored her completely. "Tenten is MINE! If you ever touch her again, I'll kill you!"

The Hyuuga never would accept to be talked to that way, but he was at fault this time, so he had to keep quiet. At least, he had saved Tenten from having to explain why she had kissed him, though Neji would've liked to know the answer to that question himself.

"Come on," Kiba said, pulling Tenten's arm. "We're outta here!"

Neji watched as the dog-boy dragged the object of his affection away, rather roughly too. And he's the one complaining about Neji using force? The aching boy was actually disappointed in Tenten, though. Because the feminist kunoichi that he knew wouldn't let Kiba say that she was "his", and wouldn't let a guy decide for her if she was leaving or not either.

Tenten turned to look at Neji as Kiba continued to pull her away and wondered if he was okay. Neji caught her gaze and understood her worries. He smiled, his eyes full of confidence, far from the eyes of someone admitting defeat.

_It's okay._

_--_

_--_

As she followed Kiba through the woods, Tenten wasn't paying attention to anything anymore. She just let the furious boy lead her wherever, too lost in her own thoughts. She was still trying to process the information about Neji being in love with her. _The _Neji Hyuuga, the genius many envy. The guy who acts like he's too good for anyone. The guy she had wanted for years.

_Why'd you have to kiss me, you idiot? Because you wanted to? Always have to have it your own way, just like when you ask me to train with you when you know I'm exhausted. You're so selfish. I finally have a relationship that works, why'd you have to try and blow it up? You're only thinking about yourself. All the time…_

She was unsure if she truly believed this or not, but right now, Neji had her completely lost and confused. Kiba felt a thug on his arm and turned to see that Tenten had stopped walking, tears in her eyes.

He put both arms on her shoulders. "Hey, it's okay. I'm not mad at you. He won't touch you again, I promise."

The girl started to cry so he hugged her. She felt pathetic, crying in his chest. Tears were for the weak.

_You idiot, that's not why I'm crying!_

_--_

_--_

"Hey, you'll never guess what this jerk Neji did yesterday!"

As soon as he saw them, Kiba couldn't wait to tell Hinata and Shino about what had happened the day before.

Hinata raised a finger to her lip. "I-I think you are mistaken, Kiba-kun. Neji-nii-san wouldn't do a thing like that..."

"He did! I saw it with my own eyes!"

"Maybe you should ask yourself if what you saw is really what you think it is," Shino said calmly.

"What do you mean by that?!" the impulsive teen replied.

"Find out for yourself."

Perceptive observer, Shino had known that Neji secretely craved for Tenten just by the way he looked at her, because Kiba used to look at Hinata with the same eyes. But he also knew that the bond between teammates was very strong, strong enough for Tenten to cheat on Kiba, perhaps? At least that was Shino's assumption for now, but he'd keep it for himself.

--

--

"Tenten did not show up today," Lee said, worried. "Maybe I should go visit her and see if she's sick."

Neji shook his head. "No, it's best you left her alone."

"Why? Do you know something?"

No reply. Surely Tenten was just upset about yesterday and wanted to avoid her sudden new admirer. Unless she feared him now? Or that she preferred not to see him anymore because of Kiba's threats to him? Neji hoped it wasn't anything of the sort. Nothing, especially not Kiba, would prevent him from seeing Tenten, except if she was to request him to stay away from her herself. The long-haired boy was starting to fear that maybe that would be the case.

--

--

Tenten had spent the day all alone in her home, too depressed to see the others, wondering if all men were the same.

Yet, right now, she was sound asleep in bed, as it was the middle of the night. Suddenly, her ninja senses woke her up, alerting her that an intruder was in her room. She quickly grabbed a kunai she always kept on her bedside, and threw it at the shadow she saw in front of her.

"Who's there?!"

The trespasser deflected her kunai with his own, knowing she would do something like this.

"Tenten, it's me." The shadow approached and the faint light coming from the window identified the intruder.

"What? Neji? Why are you here? How did you get in?"

"I'm a ninja.," came the obvious reply.

"But it's 2 a.m..." said the sleepy girl as she looked at her clock.

"I wanted to talk. Seeing you during the day would only cause problems with _him."_

Of course, he wasn't doing this to obey Kiba's orders. He simply didn't want Tenten to have troubles because of him.

The girl sat in her bed, her legs still under the covers."If it's about yesterday, I'm sorry Kiba hit you," she said sadly. "Let's pretend nothing happened."

The boy sat on the edge of the bed. "No. It did happen. I do love you"

"What do you want me to do about it? I'm sorry, but I have Kiba-kun."

Then, Neji crawled over to her on all fours. Instinctively, the girl tried to back away but she couldn't because she already sat against the wall. She felt like a trapped animal facing a hungry wolf. She was able to handle hungry dogs, but wolves were a completely different story. He looked at her with passionate eyes and approached closer to her.

"I want you. Be mine."

Tenten's heart was beating fast. Why was Neji being so seductive all of a sudden? Didn't he come to talk? It seemed like he only came to tempt her. She didn't recognize the person in front of her anymore.

"I don't belong to anyone."

Neji smirked. There she was. The feminist kunoichi he knew and loved. He knelt on the bed, a leg on each side of the girls's thighs. He still looked at her with those intense eyes reflecting the moonlight from outside.

"And I don't love you," she said firmly, trying to appear like the boy's unusual actions did not intimidate her.

Neji must've thought that the young woman's words and actions contradicted each other, because he ignored her and kissed her again. And just like the previous day, Tenten answered it back. It simply happened on its own. He was unsure what it meant, but he continued, nonetheless. His own heartbeat was getting louder as the blood rushed through his body. Tenten's mind was blank, but when the young man placed a hand on her leg and the other to her face in the same manner Kiba did, she came back to reality and realized what she was doing. She pushed Neji away.

"Stop, please. Why are you doing this to me?"

Neji just looked at her, flustered and unable to say anything. Why did she kiss him back twice if she didn't want this?

"You can't do this! Telling you I was once in love with you was a mistake. You only came in here to try to seduce me, didn't you? It's _your _fault that this is happening! You don't care if you hurt me or Kiba-kun, you're only here for your own selfish ambitions! Can't you see I finally found happiness? Neji, I will not leave Kiba-kun."

Neji was shocked. This was the first time Tenten had ever been this harsh to him. Yet getting reprimanded by her was the wake-up call he needed. He realized what he was doing. Trying to steal someone's girlfriend was wrong. His jealousy had convinced him that Kiba was an awful person, yet he couldn't be that bad if Tenten still loved him. Neji tried to convince himself that it wasn't just lust that had guided him to the girl's bedroom, yet he did want her badly. So it's true that love brings out the best and the worst in people. He tried to make the move on a taken girl, get her to cheat on her boyfriend. How could he do something like that? If he continued, he'd only be confirming what Kiba thought and forcing himself on her. Knowing that Tenten was once in love with him, he had imagined it would be easy to win her over again. How could he ask her to be unfaithful, when it was her loyalty, kindness and strong will that he admired? No matter if Tenten still loved him or not, she had said it herself: _I will not leave Kiba-kun. _She was right, he was selfish and it was all his fault.

Neji got up. "I'm sorry, I have acted wrongly. I've put you in a difficult situation." He turned his back to her. "Forgive me. I'll stay out of both your ways from now on."

Tenten couldn't believe how sincere he had sounded just then. So he did understand now? Yet, as he prepared to leave her, she suddenly felt like he was walking out of her life, like he'd never be the same around her and she was instantly scared and sad. He made her feel safe just as much as he made her feel awful. She did need him, no matter how he acted.

She grabbed his sleeve. "Stay." He paused for a moment, yet not answering. So she repeated in a soft voice: "Stay."

She felt lonely and disconcerted, and feared being abandoned. She needed comfort right now, even if she had to receive it from the one who had caused her to feel this way in the first place. Neji faced her once more, confused again at her puzzling behavior. She moved over in her bed in order to leave some room beside her and eyed Neji.

_Again, Tenten, your words and your actions are in conflict with each other._

He did not understand how her brain worked, one minute she wants him to stay away from her, the next she wants him to share her bed? But since she had been the one to invite him, he did not hesitate to settle down under the blankets beside her, going against the what he had said just seconds ago. His own words and actions contradicted each other as well. In a way, both Neji and Tenten were wrong.

She turned her back to him. "Tomorrow, I'll tell Kiba-kun the truth."

No reply. They just slept, back to back, never touching.

--

--

In the morning when Tenten woke up, instead of Kiba's familiar red markings, she found herself staring at Neji's blue cursed seal. She sprung up instantly and remembered what had happened. _Oh God, what have I done?_

She left Neji sleeping soundly in her bed, and got out of her house. Then she ran. She ran as fast as she could, to nowhere. She just wanted to get away. Get away from pain. Get away from both Neji and Kiba. As she turned a corner, she bumped into a familiar figure, Lee.

"Hi, Tenten! What is…wrong?" the boy said as he noticed that look of distress she had.

Infinitely grateful that she had bumped into a boy who did not want to get into her pants and about to suffer from a nervous breakdown, she finally snapped and threw her arm around Lee and cried.

Lee held her too and stroked her back, feeling great pain and worry for his dear friend.

--

--

--

Waah this chapter was longer than the others but it was so fun to write I made it longer ) Now let's play the moral game! Who has acted most wrongly in this chapter? The jealous, controlling boyfriend, the girlfriend-stealing jerk or the "I don't want to betray my boyfriend so I'll let another man sleep in my bed" girl? XD Seriously, I think everyone was a bit OOC in this, but whatever. At first, Neji and Tenten were supposed to do much more than just kissing in that last scene, but I thought 'Nuuu, they'd never go that far. That'd be very OOC.'

Anyways… tell me what you think! Next chapter: Lee's words of wisdom. Stay tuned.


	10. Neji III

Today I'm staying home from school because I'm sick. I've got tons of work to do though... Writing this might cheer me up.

Naruto: Chapter 10, wow. I'm barely in this story. Are you getting bored aleady? Luna owns nothing. Except this plot, which ressembles the one in her old Digimon fic…

Luna: Hush!

**Black and White**

**Chapter 10**

When he woke up, Neji was disappointed to find out that Tenten had disappeared without a trace. Yet, perhaps it was better this way. He wouldn't know how to look at her. He got out of her house and proceeded downtown.

There, among the crowd of shoppers and merchants, the Hyuuga saw Kiba coming his way. The dog boy had clearly seen him too, but both evaded each other's gaze. However, as Kiba walked passed him, he deliberately bumped his shoulder hard into him.

Neji gritted his teeth and clenched his fists, but did not turn around to give the rude boy a piece of his mind as he would have any other day. Today, remembering Kiba's exceptionnal sense of smell, Neji knew that Tenten's scent was all over him and that he should get away from Kiba at all costs before he could notice, to avoid unnecessary problems for the girl.

The Inuzuka took a few steps further before stopping.

"That smell..."

He quickly turned around but Neji was no longer there. He eyed the crowd suspiciously and continued his way.

--

--

Lee had led Tenten to a quiet place and had requested to know what was going on. He stood in disbelief as the girl told him absolutely everything, desperate for someone to hear her out.

"I can not believe it," he said. " I am disappointed in you. And Neji. I never would have guessed that he would do such a thing. Coming into a lady's room at night..."

"What should I do, Lee? I feel terrible. It's all Neji's fault!"

Lee crossed his arms. "It is unfair to blame everything on him. While it is true that Neji has acted wrongly, I think the only one you can blame is yourself. You were hazy about turning him down, that is why he was unsure of your feelings for him. You should let him know clearly. Unless... you do have feelings for Neji?"

"I- I don't know... Whether I do or not doesn't change the fact that I'm with Kiba-kun now."

"In that case, you should choose the one you really want to be with, right?"

Tenten sighed. "I really like Kiba-kun. He makes me laugh and he's always lots of fun to be with."

"He would remain this way even if you were not with him, would he not? On the other hand, Neji would still remain quiet and still have you training with him until you drop even if you were with him, yes?"

Tenten was a tad confused by Lee's words. "Are you telling me I should choose neither one of them?"

"I am not telling you to do anything. You have to decide for yourself. I think both of them have qualities and flaws. Just ask your heart what is best for you. However, you should start by telling Kiba-kun the truth. It's not right to let him believe lies."

"I know. Thanks, Lee."

"Now go seek your happiness , youthful flower of Konoha!" And he gave her the nice guy pose.

Tenten's eye twitched a little. How could a guy who gets constantly shot down give good love advice?

--

--

Kiba had found Tenten's house to be empty, and Akamaru was missing again. Hinata and Shino were nowhere to be found. The boy felt a bit lonely. He didn't want to return home yet, so he took a walk in the woods instead. Once there, he smiled as he picked up Akamaru's scent. Great! He must be nearby.

He followed the direction Akamaru's scent was coming from and eventually began to sniff a different smell. Kiba did find Akamaru, but much to his dismay, Neji was with him, sitting on a rock. The dog was handing the Hyuuga a stick when he noticed his master's arrival. He froze in a _oh crap! _manner, now that Kiba had seen him hanging out with his rival. Neji barely raised his eyes, but braced himself for yet another confrontation with the dog-boy.

Kiba couldn't believe the horror he was seeing. Akamaru was playing fetch with _Neji_?! "You again! What are you doing with _my dog _now?"

Neji got up. "Nothing."

Kiba turned to his dog. "Akamaru! Don't tell me you've been with this guy all this time? You shouldn't go near him!"

Akamaru barked something while Neji glared angrily at the other boy. He was talking as if Neji would actually harm the dog.

"What do you mean, I'm wrong about him?" Kiba said as he translated the dog's speech. "Lonely? Why would you be so lonely that you'd want to seek the company of _that_ guy? Why are you wandering off recently? The female? What do you mean?"

As Akamaru continued to 'talk', Neji started walking away.

"Hey, where do you think you're going?" Kiba growled.

The long-haired boy turned his head. "It seems like you and your dog have some things to discuss." Finally Akamaru would tell Kiba how he felt about being replaced by his girl.

"Don't talk like you know my dog better than I do! Are you trying to steal my dog _and_ my girl away from me?"

"Think what you want."

"Where is Tenten?" Kiba asked, annoyed.

"I don't know." Neji started walking away again.

"I'm not done talking to you!" the dog-boy groaned. "Even though you washed up now, do you think I did not smell Tenten's scent on you this morning? You were with her! You can't deny it!"

Neji turned back to Kiba one more time and smirked. "Why would I deny it?"

Kiba showed his fangs. "Where is she??"

"I don't know!" He frowned. "It would be best for you to leave her alone right now."

"Like _you_'d know what's best for her! I told you to stay away from her!"

"Leave her alone right now," Neji repeated. He was now starting to get seriously annoyed at Kiba. He wanted to avoid unnecessary conflict, but it seemed like Kiba was only asking for it. "You're not fit for her," he added.

It was Kiba's turn to smirk now. "Is that so? That's not the impression I got when I had her screaming my name the other night..." He'd soon regret saying those words.

Neji did not know nor care that Kiba was lying, and it wasn't the fact that he had said that just to make him jealous that made Neji furious. It was the total lack of respect he showed for Tenten that drove him to charge insanely at Kiba. He came at him so fast that Kiba had no time to evade Neji's punch and was sent flying to the ground. The Hyuuga glared at him, Byakugan activated, with the scariest infuriated eyes Kiba had ever seen.

Kiba got back up and whiped his face. "Alright. You asked for it! Let's go, Akamaru!" But the dog did not budge. "Akamaru?"

_This fight does not concern me. I have no reason to fight this person. You're on your own._

Akamaru did not want to fight Neji, and he wanted to see how well Kiba would fair without his help. After all, it didn't seem like he needed him very much lately...

"Fine! I can beat this jerk without you!"

Kiba did some hands signs and gained his animal-like features. He dashed towards Neji and attempted to slash him with his claws, but the Hyuuga easily dodged and striked Kiba with his palm.

As the two exchanged various blows and jabs, Akamaru watched the battle without blinking an eye. It appeared to him that Kiba was getting his butt kicked thoroughly. What was he thinking, provoking someone stronger than him in such an arrogant way? Now Neji was so mad, he probably wouldn't stop until he beat the Inuzuka to a bloody pulp.

Kiba coughed some blood. He knew his situation was bad, but he wasn't about to get on his knees and ask to be spared. Ok, so he knew he never should've made that comment about Tenten, but he couldn't undertstand why Neji fought him as if he were a real enemy. The younger boy winced in pain as his chakra points got poked one after the other. Damn Jyuken. Much better than what he knew from Hinata.

"Without your dog, you're no challenge at all!"

Kiba growled at the remark, doubled his efforts and one of his punches managed to connect. Then, he noticed an opening and quickly took advantage of it. Before Neji could deflect his arm, Kiba fiercely slashed across his face with his claws.

The Hyuuga stumbled a few steps backward and held a hand to his face, moaning from pain. Kiba was panting as he watched the blood dripping from the older boy's face. He was also surprised to notice Neji's Byakugan was no longer active, and that he was breathing harder now.

Kiba was shocked as Neji finally removed his hand from his left eye and shot him an extremely mad look before lunging at him while screaming insanely. The dog-boy had scored a perfect scratch on his face, all the way from his forehead to his chin, including his precious white eye. You _don't _hurt a Hyuuga's eyes! Unable to keep his left eye open, Neji used his remaining one to strike each side of Kiba's nose with two fingers as hard as he could. An eye for an eye, they say. Or in this case, a nose for an eye.

Expecting to get hit anywhere but his nose, Kiba was taken by surprise and fell down. He looked up at Neji above him. The sight was so frightful that Kiba forgot about the striking pain to his nose. The other boy looked down on him with a merciless eye, blood covering the other side of his face. Neji looked like a scary monster and Kiba seriously thought he was about to die as the frightfully mad genius prepared the final blow.

Just then, Akamaru jumped in between the two young men. The dog stood motionlessly, muscles flexed, and stared at Neji, while not showing any signs of aggressivity yet. He barked something and even though the Hyuuga didn't understand his words, he knew what Akamaru said.

_If you hurt my master any more, I will have to fight you._

"Akamaru..." Kiba said softly. He had protected him.

Neji stopped and eyed the dog. Akamaru had chosen to stick by Kiba's side, even though he had been neglected. Because the love he had for his master was stronger than that. Neji decided to respect this and backed away. He knew that Akamaru's problem with Kiba would be resolved and that the dog would never come to him again. He disappeared.

Now alone, Kiba sighed of relief and patted his dog's head.

"I'm sorry, Akamaru."

Fighting without him had reminded Kiba how much Akamaru meant to him, and how little he had paid attention to him lately. Tenten meant a lot to him, yes, but it was nothing like Akamaru.

"I won't let girls come between us anymore but if you get to know Tenten better, I'm sure you'll come to like her too. Forgive me?"

Akamaru licked his face and all was good again. Kiba still wondered where Tenten had gone to, but right now he had some catching up to do with his best friend, right after he patched his wounds, that is.

--

--

Neji had made his way to the Hyuuga compound while evading people's gaze as much as possible. He had too much pride to let others see him with this injury. As he reached the door to his apartment, he tried to open his left eye. He had been to scared to do so until know, afraid to find out that his eye may have become blind. Though it pained him to keep it open, Neji was relieved to find out that his eye was not blind. However, his vision was incredibly blurry. Unable to calm himself, he called up the Byakugan to verify if it still worked, only to deactivate it seconds after because of the unbearable pain it sent throughout his optical nerves. Surely Kiba's attack had damaged the chakra lines to his eye. He cursed loudly and punched his door out of frustration.

The sound alerted Hinata, who had been nearby. She came closer and hid behind a wall and watched Neji as he unlocked his door before going in. She couldn't help but notice the familiar wound on his face.

"Those marks... Kiba-kun?"

Inside, the frantic young man headed for the bathroom and washed the blood off his face. He restrained himself from punching his reflection in the mirror has he noticed that his left eye was swollen and that he must've been bleeding internally because his eye had turned pink from the mix of red and white. He hanged down his head and tried to regain his composure. He reached into his cabinet for some eye drops. A handy medicine made especially for Hyuuga eyes, though Neji feared it wouldn't be enough to fix his eye this time.

There was a noise. "Um... excuse me... Neji-nii-san?"

The boy sighed as he recognized his cousin's voice. "What do you want?" he asked harshly. It annoyed him to let her see him like this.

Hinata followed the sound of his voice and joined him in the bathroom, a bit scared because Neji looked really pissed. "I-I'm sorry for coming in... but I saw you with that wound and..." She took out that bottle of ointment she always kept with her for situations like this. "You must apply this because marks left by Kiba-kun's claws tend to leave a scar..."

Neji figured Hinata would be able to recognize his teammate's attack. "Thanks," he said dryly. He then tried to put some drops in his eye, but he was so agitated that his arm was shaking too much.

"Allow me..."

The girl took the small bottle from Neji's fingers and he sat down, raising his chin. She delicately held his head with one hand while putting in some drops of the medicine in the boy's eye with the other. Neji hated being babied by his cousin as much as he appreciated her help. The medecine stung in his eye a lot but he tried not to show it.

"Thank you, Hinata-sama. I can handle the rest."

"Y-yes..." the shy girl said as she was about to leave. "It would be best if you did not let Father see you like this..." she added.

Neji frowned. He didn't need her telling him to know that. He was so upset about what had happened that he totally forgot about Tenten.

--

--

The next morning, Kiba felt sore all over from yesterday's battle when he got out of bed. As he got dressed, he couldn't help but feel like something was different about his surroundings, but he couldn't tell what it was.

He got down the stairs, and Akamaru greeted him. Yet Kiba was confused because he couldn't tell his dog had been there before he heard and saw him. He proceeded to the kitchen to ask his sister what was for breakfast, but saw that she was almost done preparing eggs and bacon.

That's when it hit him. Usually the sweet smell of bacon woke him up as it filled the house, but this morning he simply did not notice.

"I can't smell!!"

Kiba started panicking. He couldn't pick up any scent anymore! That's when he remembered the blow Neji had delivered to his nose the day before. He must've blocked the chakra points allowing him to smell, as revenge for his damaged eye.

Kiba stormed out of the house.

"I'M GONNA KILL HIM!!"

--

--

Kiba stomped furiously down the streets, looking for something or someone to destroy. His nose! It wasn't working anymore! An Inuzuka losing his sense of smell was like a bird without wings, a writer without a pen and paper, a Naruto without kage bunshin... or a Hyuuga with only one eye...

As he turned a corner, Kiba accidently bumped into Hinata, sending the small girl to the floor. He helped her up and apologized. If only he had his nose, he would've smelled her coming. However, as he gazed at her, Kiba's anger diminished.

"Kiba-kun, I was looking for you.," Hinata said quietly.

"For me?" Kiba smugly replaced some hair, and Hinata took his arm as he did so, and gently pulled up the sleeve of his shirt. The girl's soft touch on his skin sent shivers through his body as he remembered how he used to be in love with her some time ago.

"Kiba-kun," she said in a serious tone. "Where did you get those?" She referred to the various finger-shaped bruises all over Kiba's arm.

The boy quickly made something up. "Um, I got those from you during sparring, most likely."

Hinata was silent for a second. She knew she never hit her teammates with Jyuken hard enough for it to leave marks. And she had seen Neji's wound the day before. "You're lying, Kiba-kun. I met Neji-nii-san yesterday...you..."

Kiba grunted. "Yeah, I did fight with Neji yesterday. So what?"

The girl looked sad. "Why did you do that? You should know that...a Hyuuga's eyes is..."

"He totally asked for it! You should've seen how he came at me and..."

"Is this... about Tenten-san?" she asked in a quiet voice. Kiba didn't respond and looked away. "It's not nice of you and Neji-nii-san..." she continued. "..to fight over a person as if she were a mere object to claim..."

Kiba still remained quiet. Getting scolded by Hinata...he felt awkward.

"S-Sorry, Kiba-kun. That's not why I was looking for you."

"Why, then?"

"I was sent to deliver a message to you. Hokage-sama wants to see you. There is a mission for you," the girl explained.

"Aren't you coming?"

"No... me and Shino-kun were assigned something else. It seems you will fill-in for someone on another team..."

Filling in for someone... Kiba remembered how Tenten had been missing the day before. He got woried. Was she still missing? Did something happen to her? He headed for Tsunade's office right away.

--

--

That was another fun chapter to write. Did you like it? Are you getting bored already? XD Next chapter: umm…I'm not telling!


	11. Kiba III

Huzzah! Here I am again, writing this story. Last chapter only got 3 reviews. I'm so disappointed ;-; I don't have anything else to add today, so on to the story.

**Black and White**

**Chapter 11**

As he climbed up the Hokage's building, Kiba was very relieved to find Tenten standing in front of Tsunade's office. He called her name and hugged her.

"You're okay! I was worried!"

Tenten pushed him away. "Why? It's been just one day since you saw me."

Kiba disregarded how she had shoved him away. "I just had a bad feeling. Anyways, are you here for the mission too? I'm guessing I'm here to fill-in for Neji, uh?" Kiba assumed Neji wouldn't dare showing up for a little while now.

"Wrong. You're filling in for Lee," said a familiar voice.

Sure enough, Neji came from behind Tenten, the scar on his face still very apparent but looking better thanks to Hinata's medicine, and his left eye still harboring a pinkish hue.

As soon as he saw the Hyuuga, Kiba growled and jumped at him without any warning.

"FIX IT!" he yelled as he tried to hit the other guy. "YOU DID THIS! FIX MY NOSE SO I CAN SMELL AGAIN!"

Neji had no choice but to respond to the sudden aggression. "Why don't you fix my eye?" he said in an almost teasing voice, because he knew that Kiba couldn't do anything to make his eye better.

Tenten watched, bewildered, as the two began fighting violently in the halls in front of Tsunade's office. When Neji had showed up earlier, the two had acted as if the other night never happened. She did ask what had happened to his eye, but he replied that it was nothing worth mentionning. She had a bad feeling that Kiba was responsible for it, but now that they were fighting, she knew for sure. To make things worse, Neji himself had taken something precious from Kiba as well. Tenten was highly disappointed in both of them.

"Stop it!" she screamed at the two fighting guys. "What is wrong with you two?"

They ignored her and continued their battle, knocking everything in their way. Suddenly, the door to Tsunade's office slammed opened.

"What the hell is going on here?!" the pissed off 5th Hokage said as the noise woke her up from her 'work'.

She grabbed Kiba's arm and Neji's leg and sent them both flying in opposite directions in one swift motion.. Tenten was somewhat ashamed of her two guys, while being amazed at how effortlessly Tsunade stopped their fight.

"Do your fighting somewhere else!" Tsunade scolded as she headed back to her office. "I'll see you now, come in."

Kiba cursed under his breath and got to his feet, Neji did too.The three yound ninjas followed inside and stood up while she briefed them about their mission.

"Last night, a group of thieves got away with one of our most precious scrolls, taking out one jounin in the process. They're known for having a variety of skills, that they learned from the scrolls they steal. We've been told their hideout is somewhere in the mountains north of here. There's supposed to be four of them, but together you should be fine. Bring back the scroll."

"I refuse to go on a mission with that guy!" Kiba shouted, pointing rudely at Neji. "Send someone else!"

Tsunade scowled. "Kiba Inuzuka! Did you forget that teamwork is most important for a shinobi? I don't know nor care what happened between you guys, but no one else can be sent for this mission." She turned her eyes to Neji. "You, what happened to your face?"

Neji cursed mentally. He had hoped she wouldn't ask. "Nothing worth mentionning."

"Are you okay to fight?" the Hokage asked.

"Yes." He lied, but his pride wouldn't allow him to show any weakness.

"Good. You shall leave immediately. And remember, if you are unable to work together, you will die!"

Tenten bowed politely to her idol while the other two got out without a word. The three of them headed out, and started walking. Akamaru, who had been waiting outside, joined them, confused because everyone seemed in a bad mood.

"This is the worst... being stuck with him," Kiba said, not caring that Neji could hear everything.

The Hyuuga made a 'tch' sound and slowly trailed off behind the other two, while Tenten walked ahead, almost ignoring them. She was angry, Neji could tell. Kiba couldn't. He ran up to her and attempted to hold her hand, but she jerked it away.

"What's wrong?" the dog-boy asked, confused.

"You two are unbelievable! You fought, didn't you?" Tenten faced Kiba. "How could you do something so awful to Neji's eyes?"

"Hey!" Kiba retorted. "He came at me first! And my nose..."

Neji somehow hid a smile, because Tenten seemed to be taking his side. But she didn't really...

She turned to him. "And you! You did this to Kiba-kun's nose out of sheer revenge, didn't you? I never thought you, of all people, would go for something childish like that."

Neji didn't avoid her gaze, but he didn't say anything either. Things weren't going very well for him. He'd best stay on Tenten's good side.

"You tell him," Kiba smirked. "What a jerk."

That comment only pissed the girl even more. "Damn it, stop it! Both of you! I hate it! You're like two dogs fighting for one bone. I'm not a bone, get that?! I'm a human being! I don't want you fighting over me!"

What she said reminded Kiba of what Hinata had told him earlier. He felt a bit bad, but he just couldn't help himself around Neji. Dogs get pretty vicious when someone tries to steal their bone away, you know?

Neji watched from afar as Kiba tried to reason with the non-listening Tenten. What a fool, the genius thought. He knew more than anyone that it was best to leave the girl alone when she was mad, yet Kiba kept getting on her nerves more.

"Leave me alone!" she snapped. "Let's just get this mission over with, okay? Remember what Tsunade-sama said. We'll get in trouble if we can't cooperate."

Kiba was finally silenced and Akamaru nudged his master with his nose as a way to comfort him, because he knew Kiba must've been upset that his girlfriend yelled at him for the first time.

--

--

Once they reached the woods heading to the mountains where the thieves were hiding, Tenten turned around and looked at Neji expectantly.

"I can't use Byakugan," he said emotionlessly.

The girl sighed. "This is just great! You can't use your eyes and he can't use his nose! How are we supposed to find the enemy' hideout now? If Tsunade-same knew, she wouldn't have sent us. It was a _really_ good idea to strike each other's most precious senses!"

Tenten's sarcasm annoyed Neji, but he still said nothing, while Kiba snorted and looked away. Then Akamaru barked.

"Akamaru!" Kiba exclaimed, smiling again. "His nose still works! He'll find the thieves!"

The dog barked cheerfully.

"Alright!" Tenten said. "At least one of you isn't totally useless."

Once again, Neji stayed silent at Tenten's remark, because, after all, she was right. Kiba made a hmph! sound and followed Akamaru who had already picked up a suspicious scent.

The dog led the trio for a long time, going deeper and deeper into the woods. However, nightfall soon came, so they decided to stop.

"If their hideout is out there, they're not likely to leave yet," Neji explained. "So it should be fine to rest here tonight."

Tenten proceed to place several traps around their camp, since they still were into enemy territory. Kiba's stomac grumbled. He had not eaten at all today, since he ran out of his house before eating his sister's breakfast and went directly to Tsunade's place after. So he didn't bring any supplies, unlike the older two.

They sat down to eat, with Kiba almost drooling at the food Tenten kept in her backpack. She sighed and handed him half. He thanked her and started devouring it. Akamaru whimpered. Neji shared his food with the dog because if he didn't, Tenten would. And if she did that, she wouldn't have anything left for herself.

Kiba eyed Neji suspiciously. He didn't like his dog eating out of his hand. Akamaru had insisted that Neji was a good person, but the Inuzuka simply couldn't believe it. Not after he had forced himself on Tenten, or so Kiba thought.

Tenten had a tent with her. September had come, and the nights were fresh now. While the tent was big enough for three people and one dog, Kiba got agitated again.

"He's not sleeping in there! I won't have him sleeping near you!"

The girl forced back a blush as she remember how she had slept near Neji just two nights before. "Kiba-kun! It's cold out there. You can't ask Neji to sleep alone outside!"

"Sure I can! Who knows what he might try if he's with you! He might try to abuse you again!"

Tenten was furious at how Kiba treated Neji, but she knew it was mainly her fault. "In that case, I'll sleep outside and you two get to sleep inside the tent."

"No!" the dog-boy shouted back. "I want to sleep with you! "

Neji watched the scene almost with amusement. It seemed like he didn't have a say in this. He would've said that he didn't mind sleeping outside, if it meant the Inuzuka would shut up, but Tenten seemed to be taking his side for real this time.

"I don't want you to be cold," Kiba added.

"Fine! I'll sleep in the tent alone, and you two can just sleep outside!" And with that, Tenten, fuming, went into the tent and zipped it shut.

Neji sighed inaudibly and said: "I'm going to get some firewood." And he left. It was best he stayed away from Kiba for a little while, because he really felt like beating him up right now. What an idiot. He still hadn't figured out that Tenten was furious because she didn't like him and Neji fighting, yet Kiba kept nagging and insulting the Hyuuga freely. It didn't take a genius to know that Kiba + Neji + fighting angry Tenten. Solution: don't fight. That's why Neji kept quiet. If he talked, he'd be talking back to Kiba, so better not say anything.

"I'll get some wood too..." Kiba said sadly. They'd need plenty if they were both to sleep out there. Before he left, he whispered into Akamaru's ear. "Stay here with her, in case he comes back before I do."

Akamaru whimpered. He wished his master would believe him when he said Neji wasn't dangerous. The dog heard Tenten sigh inside the tent. He scratched the fabric door and whined. Now that the two boys were gone, she unzipped the opening and Akamaru went inside. He promised Kiba that he'd try to get to know her, now seemed like a good time. Tenten hugged the dog's neck, resting her head on his furry back.Akamaru had gotten even bigger lately. He was up to Kiba's knees now. Tenten really enjoyed his warm presence now that she was alone with him.

"Why are men so stupid?" she asked, not to Akamaru in particular.

The dog barked something in return. _Because females exist._

Tenten sighed and Akamaru licked her face. So maybe this girl wasn't so bad after all.

She chuckled lightly. "Nice puppy..."

Suddenly, Akamaru's ears perked up and he started growling. Tenten let go of him.

"You've heard it too, didn't you? Someone's there..."

--

--

Kiba sighed as he picked up one last piece of wood. He didn't understand why Tenten stood up for Neji after what he had done to her. What was it between those two? He returned to their camp, only to be met with a very unfortunate scene.

The content of the backpacks had been spilled all around, the tent was destroyed, kunai and other traces of fighting were all over the place and (even though Kiba couldn't smell it) the scent of blood was in the air. Most of the traps were gone too. Tenten and Akamaru were nowhere to be found.

Neji stood there as well. He jerked around as soon as he heard footsteps. He was somewhat relieved to see Kiba, however. The Inuzuka threw his wood to the ground and tried to process the information before him. Prone to believe the worst case scenario without using his head, Kiba turned to Neji.

"What have you done!?"

The Hyuuga's eyes narrowed at the idea that Kiba could actually believe that he would be responsible for such a thing. "I just got here, a few seconds before you did."

"Where is Tenten? And Akamaru?! Tell me!" the unnerved teen asked.

So far, Neji had managed to hold in all the rage he had towards the way Kiba treated him for Tenten's sake, but now that she was gone, he finally snapped. He grabbed the younger boy's collar and pulled his face close to his.

" Do you really think _I_ did this? Do you really think I could hurt a girl who's been my teammate and friend for years?! Or your dog? DO YOU?!"

Neji shook Kiba's body with that last remark. The dog-boy suddenly feared this would lead to another vicious fight, but the Hyuuga pushed him away.

"I saw her bruises!" Kiba shouted in return. "You work her like a dog all the time!"

"That's right. And because I do, she was able to improve considerably. I never forced her, if it really bothered her, she would've said so a long time ago." Neji calmed down a little and sighed. "The enemies must've sensed our presence here and came to rob us. "

"Tenten must be in danger! And Akamaru! We gotta help them!"

"Calm down," the Hyuuga said composedly. "I'm sure they're fine."

"We gotta find them! They could get killed! Let's go!"

Kiba ran off. Neji sighed again and followed him.

--

--

"I can't use my nose and you can't use your eyes, how will we ever find them?" The Inuzuka panicked.

"This way," Neji said dryly as he took the lead.

"What if we're going in the wrong direction?" Kiba asked, unnerved. "How do you know it's that way?"

"I know."

Kiba was bothered by Neji's know-it-all attitude but he had no choice but to follow him. He didn't know what else to do.

"Akamaru...Tenten..." he whispered nervously.

"She's fine." Neji responded impassively.

"How can you be so relaxed? Aren't you worried about her? "

"I know her. She's fine."

Kiba couldn't understand how Neji could remain so calm when Tenten's life was in danger. "How can you be so sure that she's okay?!"

"How can you be so sure that she's not?"

Kiba was silent once more. Neji had such faith in Tenten, while he already imagined her to be dead.

"Look," Neji explained. "She can take care of herself. So can your dog. However, I don't know how long they can hold on if they are outnumbered. That's why we have to find them."

Tsunade had mentionned that there were four thieves. They both hurried along, trusting their instincts to guide them instead of their senses. They noticed a lot of kunai, shuriken and knives stuck in trees or on the ground as they jumped from branches to branches. Neji smiled.

Soon they came across a body. One of the thieves, most likely. The man's throat had been severed by fangs and several weapons were planted into his body. Now they were certain they were on the right path. They took off again, knowing they were close.

"Hey," Kiba said hesitantly. "Can I ask you something?" The other gave no reply so he asked anyways. "Tell me, why do you love Tenten?"

Neji returned the question. "Why do _you_ love her?"

"Well..." the boy blushed slightly. "She's really cute, and…" He searched in his head for more reasons. "...she's nice and she smells good too."

Neji smile smugly. Such shallow reasons.

"How about you? You do love her, don't you?" Kiba asked, curious to know.

The long-haired boy was quiet for a moment, as he was unused to speak out his feelings, before finally talking. "She's the only person who doesn't think I'm just a cold bastard. She's the only person who's presence I long for. She's the only one I find myself able to open up to, she brings out the best in me."

Kiba was quiet once more. Was a man who had such genuine feelings for a girl really capable of forcing himself on her? More and more doubts arose in Kiba's head.

"...I'm sorry...about your eye," he managed to let out.

Kiba expected a 'I'm sorry about your nose' , but it never came. Clearly his apology was not accepted. Yet, several minutes of silence later, Neji responded.

"Your nose will be back to normal in a few days. It's not permanent."

The brown-haired boy gave a sigh of relief. Unfortunately, the same couldn't be said for Neji. His eye would most likely never heal unless he went to a doctor.

--

--

Something caught the two boys' attention and they jumped to the ground. There, sitting against a tree was Tenten, unconscious and wounded. Neji eyed her for afar, while Kiba instantly ran up to her.

"Don't," warned Neji. "It's obviously a trap!"

Kiba ignored him and knelt down to hold Tenten's body. "Akamaru!"

In a poof of smoke, the girl changed back into Akamaru. The dog slowly opened his eyes and whimpered. Kiba hugged his friend. He was hurt, but he was okay. Suddenly, the boy grabbed his dog and jumped away, as he had noticed an exploding tag triggered by Akamaru's transformation. They got away just in time.

Neji was amazed. Kiba had been able to tell that the person before them was actually Akamaru without being able to identify his scent, and he had gone to him knowing a trap had been set.

"Someone transformed Akamaru into Tenten as a mean to stall for time." Neji was now getting worried. Akamaru was no longer with her, she was alone and three of thieves remained. They had to hurry.

The dog barked and Kiba translated. "Akamaru says that he can't smell their scent anymore. They erased it. He says they were really strong."

Neji thought for a second, and decided he had no choice. He raised a finger to his face.

"Byakugan!"

Kiba's eyes widened as Neji winced and grunted from the intense pain in his eye. Chakra leaked out of control from him since the chakra paths to his eye were severely damaged. He was unable to keep in his moans as he tried to scan the area. His Byakugan vison was blurry, distorted and strangely colored, but he could still make out what was around. He saw a hideout, and the shape of four people. He recognized Tenten's chakra in one of them. They were nearby.

He quickly cancelled his skill, any more of it and he even him would've fainted from the pain. He now held a hand to his eye and panted, sweat forming on his face.

"Hey, are you okay?" Kiba asked, worried as he had never seen the Hyuuga in such a state. "You shouldn't have done that!"

"I'm fine. I found them."

Without even resting, he was already on his way. The other boy and his dog followed. Kiba felt remorseful. Neji was forced to use his bloodline limit knowing what would happen and not once had he shot a blaming remark at Kiba even though it was his fault that the he suffered like this.. Neji had tried to avoid any conflict as much as he could while Kiba had done nothing other than complain or insult him and drive him into fighting back. Neji was really strong, he thought. In both heart and body. The dog-boy lowered his head sadly, when Neji motionned for him to stop.

"We're here."

--

--

Cliffhangers FTW! Hey people, guess what. Next chapter will be the last. It's time for this story to end and for conflicts to be resolved...or not. Tell me, who should Tenten end up with? Kiba? Neji? Both? None? Akamaru?... Lee? XD Though your answer will in no way affect the story, cause I've made up my mind about the ending right when I first started the story. But I'm curious to know what you think.

Next chapter: the conclusion to Black and White! Stay tuned and review. :) Please?


	12. Tenten Neji Kiba Akamaru

Here it is, the last chapter! Yays! It's a bit long, but I hope you'll enjoy it. This chapter has a fighting scene, and I'm not very good at it ;

Akamaru: Arf arf arf! Arf arf! (Luna doesn't own anything!)

Right…

**Black and White**

**Chapter 12**

"So what are we supposed to do with this girl now, leader?"

"She and her stupid mutt killed Higoru! We can't let her get away with it!"

Tenten gritted her teeth and squirmed around as much as she could as two of the thieves tied her arms behind her back. She was out of weapons and out of breath. Her artillery lay on the floor all around the room, proof of her struggle.

Earlier, when she and Akamaru had heard two bandits entering their camp, they attacked and gave chase to them over a great distance, but soon two more appeared. They managed to take down one of them, but Akamaru was beaten while two of the guys dragged her away, not letting her see what had happened to the dog. She fought back as best as she could, but was eventually overpowered and brought to their hideout. The thieves' hideout was a large wooden treehouse way up high in a giant sequoia tree, so high you could barely see it. A lot of stolen scrolls were in there.

"Let me go! Or I'll kill you!" the girl hissed, still struggling to free her hands while a man held her in place.

"Such bold words," said the leader. "Don't get your hopes up. Whatever teammates came with you, they must've have been blown up to pieces along with the dog by now."

Tenten was rapidly getting scared by now. Not because she feared for her friends' lives, but without Neji's Byakugan or Kiba and Akamaru's noses, her teammates' chances of finding her were slim.

"I know what we can do with her," smiled one of the thieves. "We can practice our techniques on her!"

"Yeah! There's this interesting katon jutsu in this scroll I'd like to learn! We'll need a proper target."

Tenten struggled some more and shouted. "Stop it! Let me go! I won't let you get away with it! Let go of me!"

"Be quiet!" the man behind her snarled and slashed across her back with a kunai.

She let out a pained scream, that was Kiba's cue to burst in the opening that served as a window and he knocked away the guy holding his girlfriend.

"Kiba-kun!" she exclaimed, then wondering if she was seeing double because she was dizzy from the blow, but realized that the second Kiba she saw was actually Akamaru. She was relieved to see the dog had survived.

"Who the hell are you?!" shouted one of the guys as he lunged for Kiba.

"The one who's gonna kick your ass for hurting my girlfriend and my dog!"

While Kiba and Akamaru engaged in batttle with the three brigands, Neji appeared behind Tenten and slashed the rope holding her hands together.

"Are you okay?" he asked as he faced her.

"Neji! I'm sorry, I just…and then I..."

Fatigued from her battle and the loss of blood, she collapsed into Neji's chest. He placed her on the ground and was shocked to see that the hand he had touched her back with was covered in blood. He cursed. They had to get out of here fast and get her first aid.

Meanwhile, Kiba's duo had managed to destroy half the walls of the hideout with Gatsuuga, but succeeded in knocking one of the robbers down the tree doing so. The tree was too high for anyone to survive the fall.

Kiba saw Tenten's fainted figure and called out to his partner. "Akamaru! You go over there and protect Tenten!"

Akamaru did as he was told and Neji joined Kiba. He couldn't use the Kaiten, because hundreds of Tenten's weapons were on the floor. The rotation would blow them away, easily hurting his friends in the process. That, and he'd be destroying the floor as well. He couldn't use Jyuken either, because of his defective Byakugan. He would have to make do with regular taijutsu. Kiba was holding out nicely even without Akamaru, for now.

It seemed like the two strongest enemies remained. The leader did some handsigns, while the tallest man watched, smiling. The two young ninjas evaded most of the various ninjutsu attacks the smaller man threw at them, remembering how Tsunade had said that they were able to use a lot of skills they had learned from the stolen scrolls.

While they were distracted, the other thief sneaked over to where Tenten was. Akamaru, still as Kiba, attempted to slash him with his claws, but the faster man dodged and striked a punch to the other's stomac. Already wounded from earlier, Akamaru turned back into his dog form. He stood in front of Tenten's body and growled and barked. The thief took out a knife.

Kiba suddenly took notice of it and leapt at the armed man, but the tall man summoned chakra to this hand and promptly punched the dog-boy across the room. It was Neji's turn to try. He succeeded in deflecting the man's arm just in time and used his speed to quickly stab him with one of Tenten's weapon he had picked up from the ground before the enemy could prepare a second punch. The man fell instantly.

Dizzy from the blow, Kiba realized that, had it not been for Neji, both Akamaru and Tenten could be dead by now. He couldn't help but feeling weak. He had to come back to his senses right away, however, because the leader came at him with a vengeance. He got out of the way just in time, as the thief's fist punched through the wall. Infuriated that he was now alone, he used a fire technique on the boy, that Kiba was unable to avoid because its range was too great. The scorched boy collapsed on the floor, unconscious.

The leader was too frustrated to realize that the wooden hideout would easily catch on fire due to such an attack, and that's exactly what happened. The wind coming from the destroyed walls and the many scrolls everywhere only fueled the fire faster. Soon there was smoke everywhere.

Neji looked at Kiba's body on the other side of the room and at the coughing leader in the middle of the flames and turned to Akamaru. The dog was in a state of panic, as most animals fear fire, and the flames were gaining on him. He wanted to run to Kiba, but he was unable to leave his protecting duties. Akamaru whined as the wooden planks around him started to crack.

Neji gritted his teeth. Kiba was out, the leader was still alive, Akamaru couldn't do anything and Tenten was still losing blood from the wound on her back, and he still hadn't retrieved the scroll the were supposed to get in the first place. The whole place was breaking apart and it was getting harder to breathe. He had to figure something out fast! He placed Tenten on Akamaru's back and grabbed the dog's snout to force him to look at his eyes.

"Listen! You're going to take Tenten out of here to safety!"

Akamaru protested as he eyed his unconscious master but Neji insisted. "Only you can do it! Don't worry, I promise I'll save him! So go! Fast!"

Neji pushed Akamaru down the tree to make sure the dog didn't have a choice, and Akamaru bounced safely on branches all the way down. The Hyuuga was grateful for the dog's growth spurt. Had he been smaller, they would have been lost.

"You!" the leader screeched. "Months of work ruined! You're going to die here!"

The enraged man came at him with a sword Neji recognized as Tenten's, and the young man knew he had to finish this quick because the smoke was getting to him and the flames were closer to Kiba. He prepared himself and called up the Byakugan once more. He ignored the incredible pain and ran towards the thief at full speed. The leader's sword grazed his shoulder but Neji striked the man's heart with his palm. The bandit fell to the ground, just as burning debris dropped on him. Neji backed away just in time.

There was no time for him to catch his breath; he had to get the scroll but if he waited any more, Kiba could die. He eyed the burning scrolls, then looked at the injured boy and easily made his choice. He threw the younger boy over his shoulder and jumped out. Just as he bounced to another tree, what was left of the treehouse crumbled all the way down. Almost like a blessing of nature, the rain started soon after, preventing the fire to spread to the whole forest.

--

--

Neji was relieved to finally touch the safety of ground as he jumped down the tree. He wanted to run to Tenten's side right away, but making sure Kiba was alright had to come first. Ignoring the pouring rain on his own injuries, the Hyuuga got worried as he placed the younger boy on the ground and inspected him. His wounds were not life-threatning, but he had inhaled a lot of smoke. Too much. He brushed some wet hair out of the Inuzuka's face and looked closer. Neji was horrified to notice that Kiba wasn't breathing.

--

--

Akamaru had run away as he was told, all the way back to what was left of their camp. He dropped Tenten carefully on the grass and licked her face. She was still unconscious. The dog started pacing back and forth, shaking his wet fur nervously occasionally. The rain had stopped but it had washed away any chances he had of sniffing Kiba and Neji's scent, all he could do was to wait for them to return. Tenten needed help, help his canine paws couldn't give her. And he was dead worried about Kiba. Was he okay? Neji had promised he would save him...

Akamaru 's tail started shaking as he heard footsteps. When he saw Neji approaching, followed by Kiba, he couldn't help running to his master and jumping on him.

The boy petted his dog's head and smiled. "Good job, Akamaru! You protected Tenten!"

Neji smiled at the two. The fact that he had to perform CPR on Kiba for several minutes until he was finally revived was a secret Neji would keep to himself. He never would've forgiven himself if Kiba had died. That, and Neji prefered no one, especially Kiba, knowing he had "kissed" a man.

The older boy now went to check on Tenten. Her wounds were not that serious, except for that huge gash on her back. It was deep and still bleeding slightly. Neji looked between what was left of their supplies that the thieves had gone through and was pleased to find that little bottle of ointment Hinata had left him with and he thanked her mentally for it. He also found bandages that had been luckily spared from the rain.

Kiba observed the cut on Tenten's back with deep concern on his face when Neji handed him the items he had picked up. He was surprised to see that Neji possessed some of Hinata's medecine, but more so surprised that the Hyuuga wanted _him_ to help Tenten.

"It's best if you're the one to do it..." Neji said simply. "I'll come back in a little while." He got up and left.

Kiba then understood that Neji had the decency to leave because treating the wound on the girl's back meant removing her shirt to do so. Leaving it to her boyfriend was probably the best thing to do... Akamaru felt a bit out of place, so he ran after Neji.

Now alone with his girlfriend, Kiba was hesitant to undress an unconscious girl, but this was no time to be having pervert thoughts. He slid his hands under the young girl's chinese-style shirt and pulled it up slightly, but dropped it instantly when Tenten stirred and slowly opened her eyes.

"Neji..."she whispered.

"Tenten! You're awake!" he smiled. "Are you okay?"

"Neji! Where is he?" the girl asked, panicked as she did not see her teammate anywhere. "Is he okay?"

"He's fine," Kiba reassured her with a sad look. "He saved you. He saved all of us..."

Kiba felt helpless. He had failed at saving Tenten's life while Neji succeeded brilliantly, like someone who had done it many times before. He had helped Akamaru as well, and also, Neji had saved _him. _Kiba hated to admit it, but he was glad Neji came. He cursed mentally and promised to himself that next time he wouldn't need help to protect someone dear to him.

"What about you?" the girl continued. "Are you okay? And Akamaru?"

Kiba felt hurt that she'd ask about them after asking twice about Neji, but he forced a grin for her. "We're fine! We wiped the floor with those guys!"

"That's good," she said softly, then she winced at the pain in her back.

"Oh, right!" Kiba remembered what he was about to do before Tenten had woken up. "I'm gonna clean your wound for you so, um... if you could please raise your arms?"

The girl understood and did as she was told, not really caring under the circumstances. Kiba was relieved to discover that the rear of her bra had been slashed along with her back. (How to unsnap that contraption was beyond his comprehension).He carefully helped her out of her shirt and washed the blood before applying Hinata's ointment on the injury and he wrapped the bandages around her chest.

"Does it hurt?" he asked.

"Not much..." she replied sleepily.

She put her shirt back on, and soon after, Neji and Akamaru came back. Tenten and her teammate shared a look, but they did not say anything to each other. Words were not needed. She did notice that Neji's left eye was a darker shade of pink now, a result from using the Byakugan again. Kiba offered his back to her.

"Get on. We need to get you to the hospital quickly."

Tenten climbed on the boy's back, too weak to walk, and they were off. They were all tired and injured and it was very hard to see their way in the middle of the night, but they had to go back to the village as soon as possible. Akamaru's nose would have to be enough to guide them back. Kiba jumped from tree to tree, careful not to shake Tenten too much, while Akamaru followed him and Neji was slightly behind.

"Kiba-kun..." Tenten whispered weakly. "There's something I've been meaning to tell you."

Kiba didn't say anything and prepared himself for what was coming. Her head was resting on his shoulder, so he could hear her well despite the girl's faint voice weakened by fatigue, while Neji strained his ear to hear what he knew she was about to say.

"Neji lied. He never forced himself on me or used violence. He said that to protect me..."

"I know..." Kiba had caught on by now.

"We kissed for real..." She paused before continuing. "And...that night he came into my room and we kissed again. Also...I let him sleep in my bed, but nothing else."

Kiba's face was darkened by this sudden revelation, but he kept listening. In the back, Neji felt guilty and was grateful that he couldn't see Kiba's eyes right now.

"I'm sorry," she said softly. "I really like you, Kiba-kun, but I love Neji too."

"I see..."

Then, tired due to the blood she had lost, Tenten fell asleep on Kiba's back. Neji's heart jumped as he had finally heard her confirm what he had been dying to know lately. Kiba kept jumping from branches to branches, not turning back. No one said anything until they arrived at Konoha's hospital at dawn. After making sure Tenten was going to be taken care of, the young men left her, avoiding each other's gaze.

--

--

Tenten was okay to leave the hospital three days later. Neither boys came to see her during those days. Neji explained to Tsunade that they had failed the mission, unable to bring back the stolen scroll. He took full responsibility for it. The Hokage was unhappy, but could tell that something more had happened between the three young ninjas, so she did not scold him. Neji also finally swallowed his pride and went to see a Hyuuga eye doctor. The doctor was able to repair his eye, but would he have used his defective Byakugan another time, his left eye would've become blind forever. He also got a medic-nin to heal the scar on his face. Likewise, Kiba's nose returned to normal soon after, as promised by Neji.

It was this very nose that guided him to Tenten now, as the girl was walking back home from the hospital. At first he hesitated, but decided it had to be done.

"Tenten..." he called out to her.

She jumped a little, startled by the younger boy coming from behind her suddenly. "Kiba-kun..." She had trouble facing him.

They were alone in an empty street, surrounded by trees colored by the beginning of fall. Kiba approached her and searched in his head for the words to say, even though he had thought this over times and times again while Tenten was at the hospital.

"Tenten," he repeated. She stared at him with gloomy eyes as he carried on. "I really love you...but..." he paused. "I can't be with you if I'm not the only one for you..."

The girl was hurt. She looked to the ground. "I-I understand."

"I'm sorry..." Kiba sounded pained as well.

She looked back up at him and gave a weak smile. "Don't be. It's best this way. I'm the one who's sorry. It's mostly my fault.."

The two stood in silence for a few moments as the wind blew past them, taking all their hopes and memories along with it.

"Let's stay good friends, at least?" Tenten asked.

"Yeah..." It was his turn to look at the ground now. "We had a lot of fun..."

"Yes, we did... I hope you can find the person who's made just for you," she said warmly.

"Thanks. Well...I'm gonna leave now." His voice was trembling, he turned around. "See you soon?" he asked just like he had on their very first day together.

"Sure..."

They both knew that was a lie. It would take some time before they were able to look at each other easily. Kiba disappeared and Tenten now stood alone in the street. She gave a big sigh, then heard familiar footsteps behind her. He had been there all along.

She didn't show him her face, she knew he had heard eveything. "I'm sorry. I'm going to need some time..."

"I understand," he said and watched her run away, unsure if she was crying or not.

--

--

"Kiba-kun?"

The dog-boy had been so lost in thoughts that he had not heard nor smelled Hinata approaching. She sat next to him on the park bench he was on. Akamaru sat on the groud with his head resting on his master's knee. He wasn't there when Kiba had broken up with Tenten, but he quickly understood what had happened. Deep down, Akamaru felt terrible. Even though he had learned to like Tenten, he was still happy that they weren't together anymore. He felt awful for thinking that way, but he couldn't help it. He felt sorry for his master, but was glad he'd get Kiba all to himself again.

"Are you...okay?" Hinata asked with concern in her voice. "You look like you were crying."

Kiba forced a grin. "Me? Crying? Real men don't cry!" Then Kiba must not have been a real man..

Hinata knew her teammate very well, she could imagine what had happened since she had seen how depressed Kiba and Neji both looked when they came back from their mission. She ignored her friend's fake smile and threw her arms around his neck, pulling him closer so his face was buried in her shoulder.

Kiba started to shake as he fought back tears. Hinata knew he was in great pain. She knew he wanted to cry. And that's what he did. Touched by Hinata's tenderness, he grabbed the sleeves of her jacket and cried into her chest. He forgot how uncharacteristic, unmanly and shameful that was and let his tears fall without restraint. He cried hard as Hinata gently stroked his back.

He cried because he really did not want to leave Tenten. He did it for her sake. Because he knew Neji was the one she really wanted to be with.

He cried because Neji really wasn't the cold bastard he thought he was. Neji knew and loved Tenten much more than he ever could.

He cried because Hinata was just so kind. It hurt him that she had to see him like this, but she was the only one he'd ever be able to show tears to like this.

When Kiba finally stopped crying, he wrapped his arms around Hinata's small frame and the two of them stayed like that for a little while.

--

--

One month later

--

--

Kiba watched the fresh October air blow through Hinata's longer hair as she looked inside the bag carrying the shopping they had done together this morning.

"Do you think that...Naruto-kun will like the present I got him?" she asked bashfully while blushing.

Kiba hid his sad look behind a smile. "Yeah, he'll like it for sure. If he doesn't, I'll beat him up!"

"Oh no! Please don't hurt Naruto-kun!" the shy girl protested. "It's okay if he doesn't like it..."

The boy laughed at Hinata's cute innocence. "I was only kidding!"

He then spotted Tenten and Neji heading their way. It had been a few weeks since Kiba had seen either of them. Were they doing some shopping too? He doubted it. They were holding hands. Hinata greeted them politely. When she saw Kiba, Tenten instinctively let go of Neji's hand and turned away.

"Hey, it's fine," Kiba assured. "You don't have to do that. I don't mind at all. I'm glad you two are together."

"Kiba..." she staggered. "Let's hang out together sometime, the four of us."

The dog-boy couldn't help but notice she had dropped the kun at the end of his name. Yet, he gave her a warm smile. "Sure. See you soon?"

Tenten nodded and both groups went their separate way. As they walked passed the other, Kiba and Neji smiled at each other.

Hinata still only had eyes for Naruto and though it hurt him to accept that fact, Kiba was able to see her with a smile. Being with her alone like this was enough. And if his adventure with Tenten and Neji had taught him anything, it's that feelings can change with time. His turn would come someday. He knew it.

Things had happened exactly as Shino, the perceptive observer that he is, had predicted. Yet he kept it for himself. It's not that he didn't feel sorry for him, but he just knew that Kiba's true feeling went to Hinata. And Lee, he was just happy Tenten had made the choice her heart desired.

"That went good," Tenten said when the other two were gone.

"Yes..." The boy extended his hand for his girlfriend to hold it again.

"You know, holding hands is silly. I don't think it's necessary. Just you being beside me is enough."

Neji smiled. "I was thinking the same thing."

--

--

Two days earlier

--

--

Tenten's mind felt lighter today. She had spent the last few weeks thinking about the recent events in her life. She couldn't blame Kiba for broking up with her. She knew what she had to do now.

Neji had acted normally with her during training and missions. He knew she needed some time alone, so he kept his distance. He wondered when he'd get an answer from her, if at all. It wouldn't surprise him if she chose not to be with him in the end. He had caused her pain. He didn't deserve her.

Tenten found her teammate training alone in the sunset. He sensed her coming but continued to train.

"Care to spar with me?" she asked. "There's something I'd like to tell you. If I can land one punch on you, will you hear me out?"

"Fine," Neji replied, serious as ever.

Though he really wanted to know what Tenten had to say, he'd never let himself be hit on purpose. He fought seriously against her and was surprised by how good she was doing. The girl had decided she would tell Neji no matter what, so it was no surprise when her fist made contact with the Hyuuga's cheek. He touched his face in semi-disbelief and gave her a smug look.

She sat beside a tree and invited him to join her, which he did.

"Did it hurt?" she asked proudly.

"Not really," he lied.

"Neji," she began. "You know, I've been thinking and I...well I...I want...I..."

Neji knew where this was going so he made things easier for her and pulled Tenten closer to press his lips on hers. She was taken slightly by surprise, but wrapped her arms around him. That was their real, _right _firstkiss. When they pulled away, Tenten blushed and he smiled at her.

"I love you," he said.

"I love you too, Neji. I've had for a long time but...I'm still mad at you for messing with my love life."

"I know. I'll make it up to you somehow."

She shook her head. "You don't have to. This was mostly all my fault. Maybe it's better that you did mess with it. I really loved Kiba, but both of our true feelings belonged to someone else, it was wrong for us to stay together that way. In the end, Kiba was more like a playmate to me. He needs someone better suited for him, like Hinata... While I need someone like you. You and I acted wrongly. So us wrong-doers have to stick together, I guess."

"I'm sorry for not listening to my feelings before," Neji apologized.

"It's fine. I don't regret what happened. Being with Kiba taught me a lot of things and..." She smiled. "Nevermind. It's not important. Things are how they are and I'm glad."

Neji smirked and allowed her to rest her head on his shoulder. Just like Lee had said it would be, Neji would remain quiet and moody, would still work her until she dropped while training and his attitude towards her wouldn't change a lot.

Except for these little moments of tenderness where he'd long for her presence, where he'd be grateful that she doesn't see him as a cold bastard, where he'd find himself able to open up to her even more, where she'd bring out the best in him.

Where he'd thank God one more time for her existence.

-.-.-.-

The End

-.-.-.-

Gaaah! It's oveeeeeeer! Oveeer! Did you like it? Did you enjoy this fic till the end? I hope you did. I had lots of fun writting it.

Of course she ended up with Neji. Did you see it coming? I feel bad for Kiba. I wish Tenten had stayed with him... Though actually, I myself believe that Neji and Tenten did terrible things ;;; That's why Kiba needs to be with Hinata. He didn't end up with her though, because that would've made the ending too perfect. If I were to make a sequel to this fic, which I'm not, it would be all about Kiba, Hinata and Shino the perceptive observer XD I love you, Shino! Would Kiba end up with Hinata in the would-be sequel? I don't know myself.

**PLEASE **you guys, it's the last chapter, so review! Come on! Even if you only say one word, I wanna know how many people actually read the story to the end. Everyone, please review! Do it for me! I need this! o.o **Please please please!**

I want to write more Nejiten one shots and ShikaIno one shots next...But I'm gonna take a little break from fanfics right now because of school. See ya later!


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